


The French Mistake

by TwoLonelyHearts



Category: Doctor Who
Genre: Angst, F/M, Humor, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-28
Updated: 2015-08-29
Packaged: 2018-02-15 04:41:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 43,305
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2216199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TwoLonelyHearts/pseuds/TwoLonelyHearts
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The Doctor and Rose always expect the weird and out of the ordinary when it comes to their travels. However, they are dumbfounded when they find themselves in a parallel universe in the year 2013. In this universe they are actors, David Tennant and Billie Piper filming on a show called Doctor Who. [Based on the Supernatural episode: The French Mistake]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. A Strange New World

 

 

 

"Rose?" The Doctor groaned as he woke up with his face planted on the ground. Splinters of wood and dirt stuck to his face as he attempted to pull himself up. Bright lights harassed his half-closed eyes. His head was pounding, but he could distinctly hear the voices of the numerous of people around him. They were coming towards him; asking him questions in worried tones. He could barely make out what they were saying while he was trying to clear the throbbing in his mind.

"David? David? Are you alright?" A masculine voice asked. The Doctor looked above him to see a crowd of people along with a blonde-haired man surround him. He stood up to find a similar crowd next to his. They were in a circle around something that he could not see. The blond-haired man asked the same question.

"What? Yeah, I'm fine." The Doctor responded, slightly confused that he called him David. "What happened?"

"A couple of the set's lights came down because some of the crew," the man said while glaring at a few people amongst the crowd, "didn't fasten them correctly. They fell on both you and Billie. Let's just hope the two of you don't have a concussion. Although considering that large bump on your head," the Doctor reached his hand to touch the hill that stuck out of his temple. "I don't think you'll be so lucky."

A few people started fussing with his head and he shoved their hands away. He observed where he was. It looked like a spacious wooden shack with a couple of boxes stacked together. The place seemed vaguely familiar to him. However, the cameras and filming equipment that were placed everywhere seemed foreign in his memory. His concern for the whereabouts of his pink and yellow human continued to grow.

"Where's Rose? She's the girl I was with. She has blonde hair and hazel eyes, have you seen her?" The Doctor asked as his eyes scanned the room for his companion.

"Rose?" The man said with an amused look. "Oh…" he chuckled, "you mean _Billie_. She's over there." He nodded towards the encircled crowd next to them. The Doctor pushed his way into the crowd and saw her.

Her hair was more curly and darker than he remembered. She wore tattered gray leggings with a faded green vest jacket over a torn white dress. The Doctor thought it was rather odd seeing that she wasn't wearing that when he last saw her. She was sitting up with her fingers massaging her head; obviously experiencing the same throbbing the Doctor was feeling. She looked a little older too, but her make-up was hiding the few wrinkles she had.

"Rose!" When the Doctor finally reached her he grabbed her shoulders and examined her. Fortunately, she did not have the same head injuries as him.

"Doctor!" cried Rose and gave him a tight hug. She was relieved to finally see a familiar face amongst a bunch of strangers, and not just any familiar face, but the Doctor's. "Where are we and who are all these people?"

"I don't know." He said as he looked around once again. He suddenly became aware of a man that stood by who wore a black t-shirt. On that t-shirt was his ship, the TARDIS. The bizarre sight sent his thoughts tumbling. He then started to notice other things too. The film cameras had small labels to mark them and on it, it read _Doctor Who_. A few other people who surrounded them had similar shirts on as well. The one that surprised him the most read "Trust Me I'm the Doctor" with his face on the center. What the hell was going on?

"I don't know," he repeated himself once more. "And I really don't like not knowing."

* * *

A group of people started rushing towards them. "Make way everyone," the blonde-haired man said. "The medics are here."

This jolted the Doctor from his dazed look and into the current situation. These medics could not examine him much less touch him. Two hearts would definitely cause a scene.

"Wait, wait, wait, now hold on a minute! I'm fine! No need for a check-up!" He assured them. His remarks did not stop the medics as they began checking him and Rose for signs of a concussion. Once seeing that they had no head injury, except the Doctor's bruise on his head, they checked their blood pressures. Afterwards, they took out the dreaded stethoscopes. The Doctor and Rose both held their breathes. They knew what was going to happen and it was not going to be pretty. The medic who was examining the Doctor placed his stethoscope on his chest. Surprisingly, he did not scream or have that shocked expression people have when they discover you're an alien. In fact, he remained to have a calm demeanor when he removed the stethoscope.

"Okay, you're all good. No concussion, blood pressure's fine, and your heart sounds alright. You might want to rest for a few days though, that bruise is going to cause you some headaches," the Doctor's medic told him. One heart. The Doctor had _one_ heart.

"Wait," Rose grabbed the medic's arm. "You're telling me you didn't find anything peculiar? Like…I dunno…a double heartbeat?" The medic shook his head, carrying the same amused expression as the blond-haired man when the Doctor asked him if he's seen Rose.

"By the way," the medic said. "My son loves your show. He's a complete fan. I think he got it from me. I used to watch it when I was his age, back when it was black and white. I even watched the reboot and your run on the show," the medic looked at the Doctor. In return, the Doctor gave him a puzzled look.

"And what show is this?" The Doctor questioned him. The medic laughed at him thinking he was joking.

" _Doctor Who_ of course!" The man said still laughing. "Well, it was nice meeting you both, but I've got to go." The medic walked away while the Doctor looked at Rose with raised eyebrows.

"Okay everyone!" The blonde-haired man announced. "We have to stop filming for a couple days because the medics just informed me that Billie and David need a short break after what just happened. We'll come back in about four days so until then we'll just have to hang tight and hope the network doesn't natter off on us about budgeting. Alright, well have a nice weekend and I'll see you on Monday." The man was about to leave when the Doctor stopped him.

"Excuse me; I'm kind of an idiot so I was wondering if you could answer this question." Rose snickered at him. The man gave the Doctor a strange look, but nodded for him to continue. "What year is this?"

"Blimey David, how hard did those lights hit you? It's 2013, the show's 50th birthday."

"And again, since I am an idiot, who are you and where are we?"

"Okay, first of all I think you need to get your head checked by a doctor. Hah, no pun intended. Second of all we're filming the Day of the Doctor in Cardiff. I'm directing, Nick remember?" He spoke to him as if he were a child.

"Oh, right, right. Sorry, yeah it must be the bump on my head. I guess I gotta go get that checked then." The Doctor said innocently.

"And what's with the English accent?"

"Sorry?"

"We're not filming anymore; you don't have to speak in an English accent, ya daft Scottie."

"Oh yes, sorry I must have gotten too much into character." The Doctor told him, instantly switching into his Scottish accent.

"Right…well I hope you two feel better. We have a lot more to do after this scene." With that, the director called Nick walked off muttering how strange actors were.

The Doctor walked over to Rose, who was already standing from where she sat, and was waiting for him. "Weeell, I think I know where we are now."

"Where?" Rose asked with her eyebrows knit together.

"We're in a universe where our life is a show on the telly."

 


	2. Where It All Began

It started off as any crazy adventure the duo had together. Another alien planet to explore: different ground beneath their feet, different sky. As always it started with playful banter between the two and they carried a cheerful mood. They were not prepared for what was to come.

They had just left the 2012 Olympics; saving a girl and her mother from a lonely psychopathic child alien. The ominous feeling that something is coming gave them both a sense of paranoia. A storm is approaching.

After taking a needed break in the TARDIS for a few days, the Doctor received perplexing readings on the ship's monitor of wormholes appearing in a planet called Desfillibous. And like anything that does not make sense to the Doctor, he decided that they should go poke it with a stick. Locking on to the coordinates of the planet, he landed with a turbulent and not at all graceful stop. Not that it bothered them; they were knocked off their feet and on their backs, but laughed as if finishing a thrilling ride on a rollercoaster. The Doctor took Rose's hand and they pushed the doors open. They were welcomed by the sight of towering trees filled with thick leaves. It was a dense jungle, noisy with the sounds of the wild life that lived within. They walked along a clear winding path.

"Rose, I give you the planet Desfillibous. It is a planet known for its beautiful flora and fauna. They have vibrant colors and aromatic smells that you cannot find anywhere else in the universe! The perfumes they make out of the planet's flowers are simply heavenly." The Doctor babbled which was like a mixture between an excited kid at a toy store and a college professor giving a lecture to his class.

"So we're here to sniff flowers?" Rose asked sarcastically.

"Actually, no. The TARDIS picked up odd readings on this planet; wormholes constantly appearing at every angle. Curiously, they seem to be affecting space and time. What we're here to do is to find out what's going on."

"Looking into another case now, are we Sarge?" Rose grinned at him.

"You got it Lewis." The Doctor teased back.

Once the path ended, they found themselves at a clearing. In the middle of it stood a temple that closely resembled the ancient architecture of the Mayan civilization. The pyramid-like building was a structure of awe with its intricate designs carved on its stone, breath-taking shape, and artful workmanship. Although unlike the present state of the Mayan temples, the building seemed to be in new condition. Its infrastructure was hardly cracked or worn from time. The pair admired the temple in wonder.

"Ready to start investigating Lewis?" The Doctor beamed at Rose, grabbed her hand, and they entered the grand structure.

* * *

"It looks like the natives here have abandoned this place." The Doctor observed as he waved his sonic screwdriver around like a torch. Cobwebs hung from the crevices of the walls and ceiling like a display of party streamers. The matching confetti consisted of leaves and dust that were scattered on the ground. "It's a good thing too; the locals around here are very brutal and primitive. Although they have dazzling architecture, the only advanced technologies they're familiar with are sharpened stick spears. Such culture, yet hidden beneath it all is violence. Much like how you lot were when you were all starting out, bunch of bumbling apes that could barely speak a proper sentence."

"Oi!" Rose whacked the Doctor's arm.

"Ow! You know I haven't said that in while. Stupid apes. Hmm, doesn't seem to have a kind of ring to it any more than when I used to say it."

"Good cause it was annoying when you said it then and it'll be annoying when you say it now." Rose said while she rolled her eyes.

"Weeell, humans and the Desi are quite similar. Weeell, when I say similar I mean physical wise. Weeell, you're all alike except that one antenna on top of their head."

"Antenna?!"

"Oh yeah, the Desi are telepathic. The antenna on the top of their heads helps them communicate with each other."

"Kinda like ants?" Rose asked inquisitively.

"Kinda like ants." The Doctor agreed.

They stopped talking as they reached a hallway that had writings and images. Mostly, it was about the gods they worshiped. One image was of a goddess that was covered in flowers and plants; another was one of a sun god dressed in bright clothing. The artwork flowed all the way to the end of the hallway which stopped abruptly at a thick stone wall. Many of the pictures seemed aged and faded, but near to the end was a drawing that looked freshly made. The colors were still vivid and clear. The Doctor examined the image and brought his sonic screwdriver over to scan it.

"Rose, look at this one," he called her over. "This picture is only a couple weeks old. Maybe even four to be exact."

The image was of another god. However, this time the god did not seem to be part of the natural scenery of the planet like the goddess with flowers or the sun god. To those who didn't know better it looked like a tornado, yet Rose and the Doctor were not one of those people. The god was in the shape of a wormhole with a glowering face. Its eyes seemed glare them down.

"That's not creepy in the least," Rose said jokingly.

"The Desi must have seen the wormholes that are popping up on their planet, now they're worshipping it like a god."

Suddenly, a few feet away from them appeared the great god himself. The wormhole was a swirling, gaping hole, the size of an ordinary door. Gusts of wind blew from it, whipping Rose's hair from her face and into different directions.

"What?!" The Doctor stared at the large hole with wide-eyes. "What?!"

"Doctor!" Rose looked at him worriedly.

"Stay back," he ordered her while pushing her behind him. His face still showed signs of nervousness and shock. "I thought these wormholes were just regular anomalies, knots connecting one distance of space to another. These things happen occasionally." He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration. "It's not. It's a time fissure, a tear in the fabric of reality."

The Doctor took out his sonic screwdriver and scanned the wormhole. His readings baffled him even more.

"It's a tangle in time and space intertwined to a variety of dimensions, anything could be at the other side…the question is…how? " He turned to his companion. "What's causing it?"

Rose took his hand in a comforting gesture, sensing his apprehension. The Doctor held on to it and gave her an appreciative look. It wasn't the fact of what the wormhole was, was what unsettled him. It was the faint feeling that it looked familiar.

"We need to go back to the TARDIS. I'll be able to do a more thorough scan of the data through there."

They both walked brusquely down the end of the hall only to be stopped by sharp threatening spears.

"Doctor, you said that there aren't any natives left." Rose looked accusingly at him.

"Apparently not," was all the Doctor could say.

A group of tribal-like humanoids faced them. They did indeed look human, like the Doctor said; their dark tan skin and unkempt black hair was akin to the iconic caveman. They had tattoos and piercings that covered them from head to toe. Their antennas were what threw Rose off. Each of them had different shaped antennas that reminded her of the aliens in the _Teletubbies_. It just stuck out of their heads like a flower stem.

"Don't stare," the Doctor told her.

The group started silently approaching them. They're faces looked as if they were trying to communicate to them.

"What are they doing?" Rose asked him. The Doctor had on a concentrated look.

"They're telepathically communicating with us. You can't hear them because humans are barely telepathic." His face quickly changed to one of unease. "They say we have just trespassed sacred religious ground and the punishment for that is death."

He looked at Rose as they slowly backed up and neared the wormhole. He pointed his sonic screwdriver at the antennae aliens.

"Rose, do you trust me?" he asked her. Rose looked at him with alarm. "Do you trust me?" He repeated.

"Of course I do." She responded. The natives were very close to them now, Rose could almost feel the piercing texture of the spears that were pointed at them.

"We're going to jump into the time fissure, er, wormhole."

"Are you mad?!" She cried.

"It's our only chance to get out of this alive. If we run through the Desi we're gonna get killed."

"But you said there's no way of knowing what's on the other side! We could die even if we jump into that thing."

"Then we'll just have to take a leap of faith, eh?"

Rose closed her eyes and took a deep breath. "Alright."

They stood right in front of the time fissure now; the wind blew against their backs. They turned to face the inauspicious wormhole. They grabbed each other's hand, and before jumping in, the Doctor prayed to anyone who could hear that they would be safe on the other side. The Doctor glanced at Rose who looked back at him.

"Allons-y!" He yelled over the winds. Then, they jumped.

 


	3. The Other Side

Rose Marion Tyler has been to plenty of places and has seen things that others could not even imagine. Ever since a big-eared man with a leather jacket grabbed her hand and told her to run, her life has turned from everyday ordinary to wondrously bizarre literally overnight. She has traveled with him for nearly two years now, carrying knowledge and experience far beyond a regular person. However, it did not ready her for their next destination. To her, she thought a universe that depicted their life on a show was something unthinkable, unbelievable! Yet, here she was, walking through the large production.

It was mid-day and a rush of people were bustling about, pushing film cameras, light effects, and odd-shaped props. She followed the Doctor through the whole parade as they made their way outside the studio. His converses squeaked on the floor as they walked. Trailers lined up the area around the building. Each one was marked with a name on the front door.

It seemed ironic. When she was little, she dreamed about becoming a famous movie star. She thought it was impossible for her, being from the Powell Estate, but she could always dream. Watching the celebrities on the television, she would fantasize about the flashing lights and designer clothing that came with the glamorous life. She envisioned the sets and locations she would visit. Now she was here and she looked around in fascination.

Rose was too occupied in what she was looking at to realize that she was about to run into someone. She got a face full of bowtie and velour jacket.

"Billie!" a floppy-haired man said as he gave her a suffocating hug. The Doctor turned around to see the commotion. He raised his eyebrows at the man that was holding Rose. She looked at him for guidance. A slither of jealousy flashed in his eyes, before vanishing into one of amusement. An expression that left so quickly on his face that Rose thought she imagined it.

The man pulled away from Rose to see her face, still holding her arms with his hands. "Are you alright? I was so worried! I wasn't able to get to you because of all those people crowding you."

The man seemed to be in his late twenties to early thirties. He had a defined facial bone structure and pale-colored eyebrows. A distinguished chin stuck out from the rectangular-shaped face. The brown flop of hair that brushed his forehead was close to his dark green eyes. He wore an old-fashioned outfit: a dark gray waistcoat accompanied with a bowtie and a long velour jacket. Rose assumed he must be an actor from his costume.

"Umm, y-yeah I'm fine." She said, unsure on how to respond. Her eyes were pleading for the Doctor's assistance.

The chin man then noticed the Doctor standing in front of them. He had the same look of concern on his face as well when he saw the bump on his head.

"You okay too David? That's a nasty bruise."

"I'm alright, as good as I'll ever be. Had a bump a lot larger than this once. I was rescuing these funny little green creatures at this place called Lobashia, and I hit my head on one of their electrical poles. Do you remember that Rose? For that entire week, people thought I was growing Mt. Everest on my forehead." He nattered on. Rose giggled in reply. The Doctor and his gob always find a way to run off at random times.

The man gave them a perturbed look. "What's with the Estuary accent?"

"Oh…umm…" Before the Doctor could think of a good reason, the man beat him to it.

"Oh! I get it!" he laughed. "You're in character! And I guess you're acting as Rose," he looked at her. "Okay, here, I'll play along with you guys." He took a moment to prepare himself.

"Hello past me and Rose! Yowza! What are you two doing here? This is dangerous, _very_ dangerous. The both of you being here could affect our timelines!" he said acting aghast as he clasped his hands together.

"What do you mean 'past me'? You're future me?!" The Doctor asked looking stunned.

"Yes, yes." He said distractedly as he took out a pen-like device from his jacket and hovered it around the pair. The device sounded exactly like the Doctor's sonic screwdriver, but gave off a green light instead of the regular blue. He brought it up to his face and pretended to be reading the data.

"Is that supposed to be a sonic screwdriver?" Rose questioned.

"Yep, my _cool_ sonic screwdriver." He grinned at her. "I was just scanning to see if you two were well enough to come with Clara and me to this great Italian restaurant for dinner. And it looks like," he examined the fake screwdriver again; "you're all alright."

"We can't," the Doctor butted in. "Sorry, medics told us we can't do a lot of physical activity right now."

The chin man appeared disappointed. "Shame, that." He said out of character. "We could have had a good time. I was hoping you and Cla-Jenna could get to know each other. You know companion to companion." He winked at Rose. She gave him an apologetic smile, although she had no idea what he was talking about.

"I'm a bit lost though," The Doctor said in his Scottish accent. "Could you point us to our dressing rooms? I forgot where mine was."

"Umm…" the chin man looked around. "Billie's is right there." He pointed to a trailer a few feet away. "Your's, I think, is two trailers behind that one," he told him pointing to the trailer farthest to the left.

"Thank you." The Doctor said.

"No problem. See you guys on Monday." He turned to Rose, "Tell the kids I said hi."

He waved them goodbye, leaving a bewildered Rose and Doctor in the midst.

"Who was that?" Rose asked him.

"I have no idea, but bowties? Really? I haven't worn those in centuries!" The Doctor complained watching the fleeting figure of the eccentrically-dressed man.

"I thought it was sort of cool." Rose told him.

 


	4. We're Not In Kansas Anymore

The Doctor rushed off to Billie's, or Rose's (whatever, alternate realities really confused him) trailer. His tan trench coat flapped in the air. Rose trailed next to him.

"Why are we going to my dressing room?" Rose asked.

"It's closer and a lot less steps to take." He responded cheekily. Rose sighed, for once the Doctor wanted to do less running and she was okay with that.

They reached the trailer, a star on the front door with "Billie Piper" labeled in large black letters. The Doctor opened the metal door and let Rose inside while he followed behind. They walked into a gleaming hardwood floor. The dressing room was a commodious space full of luxurious items. To the side of the room was a large mirror that was bordered with lights, a desk beneath that was crowded with beauty products, and a small cushioned chair was pushed in. A modern style loveseat was placed across from a ginormous flat screen television.

"Blimey." Rose said in a hushed tone.

"Quite." The Doctor acknowledged in a high pitched voice; clearing his throat afterwards. "Let's see where we really are now, hmm?"

He brought out his sonic screwdriver from his not-so-much-bigger-on-the-inside pocket and pressed the button to scan the area. The device just made a noise that was similar to what it typically made, but sounded more fake, like a sound that would come out of a toy's speaker. The Doctor scrunched his eyebrows together. _That's odd._ he thought. He shook it vigorously and pressed the button again.

"No, no, no!" He banged the tool on his hand repeatedly. "What's up with you?" the Doctor muttered angrily to himself. He inspected his screwdriver once more and licked it. Rose wrinkled her nose, and gave him a disgusted look.

"It's made of metal and plastic…Metal and _plastic_!" He had mixed look of astonishment and repel at the gadget he once loved.

"Why? What's wrong Doctor?" Whatever was troubling the Doctor troubled her; he always had a good reason to be worried.

"I-It's my sonic screwdriver. It's not real. It's fake, it's a prop!" His eyes boggled from his head. "I hate the universe. I really, _really_ hate this universe." He turned to face Rose. "I have a theory and I'm pretty sure it's a correct one. We're in a parallel universe eight years ahead of us."

* * *

"Another parallel universe? We're making a habit of travelling to other dimensions." Rose joked, although she was nervous to hear what else he had to say. The Doctor without his screwdriver made her feel like they were both exposed to impending threats.

"I know, make it a third and we're regular dimension travelers." The Doctor grinned at her. "Anyway, we travelled hear through a wormhole which makes everything unpredictable, especially how we arrived in the dimension. This universe does not recognize us. Unlike the universe we travelled to before, this one is not different based on alternate decisions that make our timelines differ. We have different energy around us. This is a whole other universe that has a show based on ours, but entirely contrasts in timelines and energy. Hence, since we are so different from this universe, we had to be converted through our energy and cellular structure. We turned into people of this universe. Which explains the one heart." He looked at his chest in repulse. "And your clothes and wr-" he stopped himself before he said too much.

"My what Doctor?" Rose questioned him.

"Your…" he hesitated before speaking. "wrinkles."

"What?!" Rose's hands instantly flew to her face, feeling for the differences. She dashed to the mirror and inspected her face.

"It's not that different! Just a few years older." The Doctor assured her. "Although, you have _some_ wrinkles, but that's it."

Rose's eyes shot to the Doctor's. Her expression changed from one of rage to a sly smirk. "I think you still have the same handsome looks."

"Thanks. Always do." The Doctor said as he adjusted his tie. He was suspicious of her sudden change in behavior. Rose rolled her eyes at his boastful comment.

"But," she said.

"But?" He raised his eyebrows at her.

"I think you have a few age marks yourself. Your hair looks _flatter_ too." She evilly revealed to him.

Now it was the Doctor's turn to race to the mirror. He observed with eyes of horror that Rose was correct. He looked older; his skin slightly sagged and carried some wrinkles. Lines that weren't there before creased his skin. His hair, instead of having its usual spiky brown sheen, was flat. _Flat_. He quickly searched for some gel on the table to place on his ruined hair, knocking over a few bottles in the process.

"Where's the gel?" the Doctor grumbled.

Rose laughed at him. "Being a bit vain now Doctor?"

He glowered at his companion then he continued his search around the room for the life-saving hair product. He mumbled something to do with humans and their fast ageing. He stopped when he found something on the counter.

"Rose, look what I found." He smiled broadly, holding up the IPad he discovered.

"What is it?"

The Doctor had momentarily forgotten what Rose's personal time was.

"It's an IPad, weell an IPad mini, sort of like a touch screen laptop without the keyboard. It becomes really popular in a few years in our universe." He fondly held the device. "Alrighty, I'm going to look up this place. Let's see what this show is all about."

* * *

The duo plopped themselves on the coach, exhausted from the recent events. They both focused on the IPad as the Doctor typed. Rose was entranced by the gadget, making a note to herself to buy one once it comes out in her universe.

" _Doctor Who._ " He muttered as he typed in the name on a search engine.

A multifarious amount of links came on screen as well as a collection of pictures. He clicked on one of them and read out the information.

" _Doctor Who_ is a British sci-fi show that first aired in 1963…" The Doctor paused. "Hmm, that's weird. That's when I first started travelling with human companions. I was with my granddaughter, Susan, and her teachers, Ian, and Barbara."

"Grandaughter?" Rose said baffled.

The Doctor ignored Rose and continued reading. She pretended not to see that he avoided the subject again. It reminded her of how little she knew of the family he lost in the war.

"It is about the adventures of an alien 'Time Lord' named The Doctor. Hey," He grinned and pointed his thumb at himself. "that's me!" Rose smiled at his giddiness and he went on reading. "He travels through time and space in a blue 1960's British police box called the TARDIS. With his companions," He nudged his elbow at Rose. She bit her lip and blushed; nodding for him to keep going. "he defeats evil villains that threaten to destroy the universe, saving ordinary people along the way. Well that sums us up in a heartbeat."

"Couldn't agree more." She gave him a matching grin.

He proudly read about the success of the show: a list of awards and accomplishments.

"It originally ran through 1963 to 1989, but was canceled." He said sadly. "After a failed start to bring the series back in 1996 by a television film, it returned to screens in 2005…" he trailed off reading. He had a distant look.

"Doctor?" Rose asked worriedly.

"We met in 2005."

"Yes, we did." She smiled as she recalled the memory.

"Before that though," He said solemnly. "Between that timeline of 1996 to 2005, I was hardly on Earth. Actually, I barely travelled from my planet during that time."

She pieced together what he was saying; his forlorn look and grave tone only meant he was talking about the one thing he wished he could forget. "You were in the Time War."

He nodded. His eyes were never leaving the floor. "The coincidences in this universe…I am an actor who plays the Doctor and you are an actress who plays Rose Tyler. And…looking by these adventures…they are every one that I have had." He quickly switched his tense mood to a cheerful one; hiding his true emotions through a mask. "Hey look there's me!" He clicks the link for information on the Tenth Doctor. "I'm in my tenth regeneration," he explained to Rose. "Weell technically I'm the eleventh, but I don't want to think about the other incarnation." He browsed the site. "Played by David Tennant." He said the name, exaggerating the syllables like he was trying it out. He pursued reading. "Rose," his voice was hoarse. "each of these episodes I was in are part of our adventures. The Sycorax, the werewolf, the Krillitane, Mickey, all of it! I don't think this universe is just partially based on me or us."

For the second time in her life, Rose saw the Doctor look scared. The first time was in 10 Downing Street when he told her that he could save the world, but loose her. Except, he wore a different face then, it was new to see this emotion on this face.

"It's utterly a part of our timeline. This show is our past, present, and future." He turned off the screen of the tablet before he could read anymore.

 


	5. The World Gets Even Stranger

A knock of the door interrupted the stiff atmosphere. The Doctor and Rose's heads jerked up at the sound. The Doctor hesitantly approached the door, placing the iPad down on the counter and opened it. A short, chubby man was on the other side. He wore a casual baggy shirt with jeans. He had a variety of wires connected to his ear, possibly a communication device. The chubby man had a surprised expression on his face when he saw that it was the Doctor who had opened the door. His face turned red as if he caught the Doctor in the act of doing something wrong.

"Erm…" he said awkwardly as he avoided eye contact with the Doctor. "Is Ms. Piper here?"

"Right here!" Rose answered behind the Doctor, looking down at the man. Her appearance made him feel more uncomfortable.

"Oh…uhh…sorry to interrupt…" he fidgeted. "Mr. Hurran told me to tell you-and I was going to go to your trailer afterwards Mr. Tennant," he looked at the Doctor. "That they hired drivers for the two of you to go to your hotel. They didn't think it was safe for the both of you to drive. The chauffeurs are parked in the front of the parking lot."

"Okay thank you." The Doctor replied politely.

The man stood there gawkily for a couple of seconds then he scampered off.

"Doctor, what if we are in different hotels?" Rose asked worriedly. She didn't know what she would do if she was separated from him in such a foreign place, even though it was similar to her world. Right now, the Doctor was her only connection to home.

"We'll just have to make reservations at the same hotel then." He told her confidently. He would never leave Rose on her own, especially in this gingerbread house. Who knows what trouble she would find, knowing her.

"So shall we go?" Rose made her way to the door when the Doctor grabbed hold of her arm and stopped her.

"I think we should both change first." He gestured to their clothes. "I don't think the real Billie Piper or David Tennant parades around in their costumes."

"Oh right," she said looking at her odd ensemble. "Suppose torn leggings aren't really in season in this universe." She walked to a closet and scoured through the clothes. The hangers clicked and clacked as they hit each other.

"I guess I have to go find my dressing room now." The Doctor sighed as he thought how arduous the task was. He could hear Rose "oooo" and "ahhh" at the clothes she found. At least someone was having a good time.

"Don't wine Doctor." Rose's voice was muffled because her head was buried in the closet. "You can navigate yourself through entire galaxies, I'm pretty sure you can manage to find a trailer in a small studio."

"Galaxies are more fun than studios." The Doctor retorted. He sauntered off to the door. "And, Rose?"

"Hmm?" She responded distractedly.

"Don't wander off." Rose took her head out of the closet to glare at him. He winked and gave her a broad smile. "I'll meet you back here once I've changed."

The Doctor couldn't hear if Rose answered; he stepped out of the trailer and into the blizzard of people. They rushed back and forth, either carrying equipment or giving orders. He went to the direction the chin man pointed to: the trailers furthest to the left.

While he made his way there, he couldn't help but contemplate what they could discover if they stayed in this universe for too long. It was 2013 here, but in their universe it was still 2006 (from Rose's perspective anyway). This place told their future, their story that was yet to happen for them. He had already learned of what he would look like after regeneration, a bowtie-wearing giraffe. He just hoped that it would be a long time till that would happen.

What was also strange was how he and his future face were in the same episode. Would he meet with himself in the future? Rose's outfit disconcerted him too. It wasn't the clothes she would normally wear. He assumed it was just a trend. He was only glad that Rose was with him even after he regenerated, or so he hoped. There were so many things that were there that flustered him.

It was the temptation that scared him. For the both of them, that is. As much as he tried to act like the stronger one, the one who had authority, he was as enticed as Rose in this universe. I mean, who wouldn't? Didn't everyone have that deep desire to know what would happen to them in the future? He gave himself plenty of reasons on why he was having that itching feeling to watch a few episodes. _No, stop it._ He told himself. _You are a Time Lord. You know what the consequences are when you know too much of your future._

His thoughts were halted at the sight of a beauteous blue box.

* * *

"Oh yes!" The Doctor exclaimed.

He was too overjoyed to think of how it was possible for his magnificent ship to be there. He bolted towards the glorious sight, flushing his worries down the drain. He stroked the blue wood and tried to feel the sentient's presence. He instantly knew something was wrong.

He couldn't feel the comforting humming of the TARDIS's conscious. What's more, the color seemed brighter and a St. John Ambulance badge was stuck in front. He hasn't seen that on the TARDIS since the 60's. Falteringly, he pulled out his key in his pocket and turned it into the keyhole. He didn't even need it! The door opened with a slight push to reveal the shocking truth.

For once, the TARDIS was smaller on the inside.

No longer did he see the magnificent console room that greeted him upon entering. It was just a little, shabby wooden box. Another prop. His hopes were crushed once again. Everything in this world was fake. In frustration he kicked the door panel, only to be rewarded with a sore toe. He rubbed the spot to soothe the pain. _This universe loves to tease me._ The Doctor thought in resignation.

When he looked up he spotted a face he thought he would never see again. It was himself. The incarnation that did not recognize himself as the Doctor. The one who pressed the button and killed them all. Anger and regret fueled inside him. Then he recalled the universe he was in and realized that the man he was looking at was not the awful incarnation, but just an actor. An actor with the same face.

The man walked into the trailer marked "John Hurt". He warily approached the trailer, peering at it with intrusive eyes. What exactly was this episode about? Why was his past self in it? A copious amount of questions swarmed his mind. The temptation to explore the show kept pushing through his bordered walls. _No_. He sternly thought to himself. _Timelines are at stake._

The Doctor glanced across to see that the trailer next to the man called John Hurt's had his name (or fake name) labeled on the front door. He neared his apparent dressing room, but was reluctant to step inside.

He looked down at his clothes and back at the door. Did he have to change? The Doctor loved his pinstriped suit, it was all he wore! It was his armor against all the evil and darkness he faced, much like how his scarf or leather jacket once was. Taking it off and putting on something new was an estranged idea. He was not at all pleased by it. With disinclination, the Doctor held his breathe and opened the door. He hoped the clothes there weren't anything too casual for his taste.

* * *

Rose sat impatiently on the couch of her dressing room. She was already dressed and was only waiting for the Doctor.

"And he says I take long," she huffed. _Time Lords and their egotistical view of self-appearance_. She fumbled with her light gray scarf that was pieced together with a black leather jacket, a flowing white hi-to-low top, and a gray beanie. She wore snug black jeggings with black three inch heels to go with them. They weren't clothes that she was used to, that's for sure. She was used to wearing hoodies, jeans, or yoga pants. They were comfortable and cheap, clothes like the ones she was wearing now wasn't affordable for a girl who worked at a shop.

She also found a designer purse filled with a supply of make-up, some jewelry, a hotel key and a phone while she was going through the closet. The bag sat in her lap as she dug through it and pulled out the device. Rose surveyed the phone; it looked like a miniaturized version of the iPad. She wondered if the Doctor could do his jiggery-pokery with this phone too, but realized with dismay that he didn't have his sonic screwdriver. Not that it would work if he did have it, she might not have signal like what happened in the other parallel universe. Bugger. She was stuck in this place with no way of contacting her mum.

Her dear old mum.

She pondered if her mother was rich in this universe as well like the other alternate version of her. She probably wasn't even Jackie Tyler, just a random actress that played her. Rose sighed, closed her eyes and laid her head back on the sofa. This world just confused her. It felt so _alien_. The scenery was similar to her world, yet everything else felt so wrong. It was more extrinsic than the last universe because everyone she knew weren't themselves, they didn't even have their own names! Even the Doctor. He was a bloke named David Tennis or something and he was human.

Then, the Doctor revealed to her that the show in this universe was not only about them, but was consistent with their whole life together, even their future! Eight years into the future. That had made her head spin even more. What if they found out about things ahead of their time? Would reapers appear? However, this was another universe…maybe it did not affect them like it would if they were in their own universe. Is it possible for them to look, have a peek even, into what was to come? Her eyes glanced at the iPad that the Doctor left on the counter. _It probably wouldn't hurt to have a little glimpse._ She thought to herself.

Before she could even move towards the iPad, the Doctor burst into the room and shut the door behind him. Once he settled inside, he regarded his clothes with distaste (though he already gave them the same scrutinizing look a dozen times before reaching the trailer). He wore a navy blue shirt underneath a black hoodie and a gray military cap over his brown hair. What surprised Rose the most about his outfit were his jeans. The Doctor wore faded blue _skinny_ jeans. He never wore anything this informal. The supercilious man always wore his beloved suits. The only thing that looked the same was his converses. He looked at Rose noticing that she was staring at him.

He found his mouth, to some extent, gape. It was a different look for her. She looked, well, like a celebrity. Like those pictures of celebrities who were having a "casual" day out, but went all out with their wardrobe. She also looked more mature, nothing like a girl just coming out of her teens. His Rose looked more grown-up and beautiful, not that she wasn't beautiful when they were in their universe. She was gorgeous; although, he would never admit it, not even to himself. She was a human. _You look beautiful…for a human._ He could hear his northern self say.

He instantly composed himself so she would not notice, covering it up with an annoyed and exhausted look. "You would not believe the day I am having."


	6. Chapter 6: We Aren't Who We Are

 

 

 

"I need to make a wormhole detector." The Doctor told Rose, they both sat in the back seat of the black SUV they were riding. He thought to himself that the device needed a new name; "wormhole detector" didn't sound the least bit exciting.

* * *

Moments Before...

Once they had changed and were ready to go, the duo searched for the parking lot; using signs and asking others for directions. After getting a dozen strange looks (which was happening to them a lot today) and taking a couple wrong turns, they had found it. The two cars were parked next to each other. When they met up with their chauffeurs, they instantly asked where their destination was. To their relief, the drivers gave them back the same answer: the Cardiff Marriot Hotel.

The Doctor quickly dismissed Rose's chauffeur, telling him that she could ride with him since they were both headed to the same place. The man gave him a dirty look for running him out of a job, stepped into his car miffed, and drove away. The Doctor brought Rose over to his car and explained to his driver that she was coming with them. The chauffeur looked curiously at them, but shrugged and said no more, opening the door to let them both in.

When they reached the main roads, heavy traffic slowed down their ride. This gave time for Rose and the Doctor to talk about their situation. The driver hardly paid attention to them, he knew celebrities. He's worked with them for years and there is one thing he learned about them throughout that period of time: they were _wild_ things. Even the married ones. This was what prevented him from glancing at the pair through the rearview mirror or listening to their conversation. He simply kept his eyes on the road and his ears on the music that was softly playing on the radio.

"How are you going to do that? You don't even have your sonic screwdriver?" Rose interjected.

"Oi! Rose Tyler, I'll have you know that I am not completely useless without my sonic screwdriver. In fact, I was capable without it for a few of my regenerations; only started using it often in my third. I barely even used it in my fifth incarnation! Anyway," the Doctor said trying to get back on topic. "we need to use another wormhole to travel back to our universe because, if you can't tell, we don't have a TARDIS." Rose's eyes shot towards the Doctor's like daggers. A look he was familiar with that warned him that he was being rude. He quickly changed his tone to one more amiable. "That's why we need a wormhole detector to find us one. Hopefully, there is still a time fissure that is connecting this dimension to ours."

"So how are you going to build it?" Rose questioned him.

"It is going to take a little longer without my sonic," the Doctor admitted. "But I can use a few gadgets and electronic devices to make one."

"Like this one?" Rose held up the phone she found in her purse.

"Exactly like that one." He grinned at her and took the phone. "Where did you find this?"

"I saw this bag in the closet, dug into it, and found it." She explained.

The Doctor turned on the phone and slid it to unlock it. He was blocked by a passcode.

"Looks like I can't get into it. Might as well use it for the detector." He put the phone in the pocket of his hoodie.

"Do you have a phone Doctor?"

Thinking about it, the Doctor did notice a small, shiny object on the table of his trailer. He was too busy fussing about his clothes to really give it a thought.

"Huh, I think I do, must have left it in the trailer."

Rose looked outside her window. The sun was already going down and the sky had a purple-pinkish hue. Some of the city's lights were already turning on and brightening the scenery. A blur of cars sped past.

"It feels weird here." She confided to him.

"It's the different energy, takes a while to get used to." He paused a few seconds before professing himself. "I feel it too. People we know, places we've been to-they don't exist. Instead, they're replaced by whole different principle. Everything's different in this place."

"Us, you and me, who we are, we're just stories. Our adventures aren't real here…we're only a show that people watch for entertainment." Her eyes were wistful and scared, it reminded the Doctor of the look of a lost infant animal. _Culture shock_. The Doctor thought. He wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"Well, we're all just stories in the end; we just have to make it a good one, eh?" He comforted her, although for some reason he felt like he was quoting someone.

"Yeah, I guess so." She said, her melancholy feelings still there. The Doctor thought her emotions were based on culture shock, but it wasn't. He had misinterpreted. It made her feel sad because the Doctor and her weren't themselves. They weren't _the Doctor and Rose Tyler_ , the hand-holding team that faces trouble at every turn. They were just actors who played them. What they have together, it never happened in this universe. It was fictional. They both live separate lives and have a different relationship with one another, probably one that's just professional. And _that_ concept was what upset Rose.

 


	7. Fake Selves

A large bright red sign on a tall building was brought to their view that read Marriot. The car stopped outside the hotel's driveway, a curved u-shape that had bellhops and guests rushing about carrying luggage and pushing trolley carts. The chauffeur stepped out of the car and opened the door for them.

"Have a nice evening, sir, marm." He said respectfully.

"Thanks you too." Rose told him as she stepped out of the vehicle. The Doctor nodded and smiled at him as he followed her towards the entrance.

They went inside the lobby. It had a glossy tiled floor, to the side was a long dark mahogany desk that had receptionists either on the computer or on the phone, and there were some chairs and coffee tables across from it.

The Doctor realized that they didn't know which room they were staying at, much less have their room keys. Rose told him that she had hers, but he probably left his key in his trailer along with his phone. After he went to the reception booth to get his key, they looked for their room that was labeled on it. Fortunately, they found out they were staying on the same floor three rooms away from each other. Rose didn't feel like leaving the Doctor yet and the Doctor didn't like the idea of Rose straying away from him so they went into his room to talk before retiring for the night.

The Doctor's room had a broad queen bed in the middle of the room with white and red covers. The curtains matched the room's theme of red, green, and yellow; they were striped with those colors. There was a small red couch that was placed next to the bed beside a nightstand. A desk stood beside an extensive flat-screen television on top of a wide wooden drawer. Everything looked clean and the room smelled like freshly washed laundry.

Right after they entered the room, the Doctor hastily went towards the suitcase he saw that sat next to the drawer. He inspected his fake self's belongings. _Fake self I like that name, fake self._ He thought. To his dismay, the only outfits that were packed were all casual: jeans and t-shirts. He groaned.

"What's wrong?" Rose asked. She was taking of her jacket and placing it on the couch.

"All these clothes are too informal!" He whined. Rose sighed in exasperation.

"Ha!" The Doctor yelled excitedly, startling his companion and making her jump.

"What is it this time?"

"Found a bottle of gel!" he said while holding up the bottle like a prized trophy.

This time Rose tried to ignore the Doctor as he swiftly went into the bathroom to fix his hair. She sat on the couch waiting for him. He came out with his locks sticking up in the front like it normally did. He looked pleased with himself.

"Happy now?" Rose teased him. She smiled at his narcissistic behavior. _Just the Doctor being the Doctor._

She noticed a small rectangular object hanging out of the Doctor's pocket in his hoodie.

"Erm, Doctor?"

"Yes?"

"What's that in your pocket?" She pointed at the object.

"Oh this, it's your iPad. I took it from your trailer before we left. Thought we might need it." He looked warily at the device in his hand. The information that he found in it still agitated him.

"I was wondering…" she said cautiously.

"About?"

"Could we look up who we are here?" Before the Doctor could interrupt her, she quickly went on. "I mean I think we should know our basic background about ourselves. Running around clueless is bound to make people think we're nutters, yeah?"

"I don't know Rose…one small thing we find out about our future could end up unraveling our timelines."

"Oh c'mon. We'll just be careful not to look at the _Doctor Who_ stuff. I only want to see who we are."

"Alright," he relented. "We'll research who we are, but that's all." He gave her a warning look.

The Doctor sat next to her and was about to switch on the tablet when his stomach made an alarming sound. It was like a cross between a lion's roar and a growling bear. Rose looked at him with a smirk.

"Are you hungry Doctor?" She gave him her famous tongue peeking grin.

"Ugh, this human body has an appetite. You know, I could go on days without eating and I would be just fine." He complained. _No wonder he's so skinny._ Rose thought to herself.

Suddenly, Rose's stomach made a similar, if not louder, sound. She blushed in embarrassment.

"Sounds like somebody's hungry as well." It was his turn to tease her.

"Shut up." She playfully pushed him. She stood up to pick up the phone on the nightstand and a small book that was next to it. She read the numbers before dialing.

"What are you doing?" the Doctor asked.

"Ordering room service. We're both starving and there's no use researching on empty stomachs." She looked at the book as she waited for the receptionist on the other line. "Ooo looks like they serve chips, you want chips?"

"I could go for some chips."

She started talking on the phone and ordered their meal for the night.

"Oh, and don't forget to add a banana!" the Doctor reminded her.

"And could we add a banana into that order." She said as she rolled her eyes. "Yes, that's all. Thank you."

* * *

They waited for a few minutes before they heard a knock on the door. A lady pushed in a cart with a platter of food, drinks, and a banana beside it. She glanced up at them in recognition then she quickly looked away, turned around, and closed the door behind her.

The pair sat back on the couch placing the food on the coffee table in front of them. The Doctor turned on the iPad as he grabbed the banana and peeled its skin. Rose munched on a handful of chips squished in her hand.

"I hope you don't mind, but I used your room number to pay for it so it'll go on your card." Rose told him.

"Nah, not really mine anyway, more of my fake self's. Besides, I owe you one from our last date with chips."

The Doctor pulled up a search engine on the tablet and typed in Billie Piper.

"Hm," he murmured.

"What?" She asked him looking at what he was reading.

"Says here you were named 'Pop Princess' of England in the late 90's."

"Nom kiddinf?" She spoke with her mouth was full of chips.

"Yeah, you apparently made 4 singles that made top three on the charts when you were sixteen."

Rose started to get impressed by her fake self. The only singing she ever did was in the shower and if you count the few times with Jimmy Stone, but she didn't want to think about that. The months she spent with Jimmy were things she did not like to dwell on.

"However, your music career faded and you started acting in a whole lot of shows before starring in _Doctor Who_ in 2005."

The Doctor continued reading, but abruptly stopped and looked up at Rose with raised eyebrows. He looked surprised.

"What's that look for?" She questioned him.

He pursed his lips as he tried not to laugh. "You are also famous for starring in a show called _Secret Diary of a Call Girl_."

Rose's cheeks instantly flushed a deep shade of red.

"Give me that." She viciously tore the iPad from the Doctor's hands, almost knocking the banana out of them. He spluttered a laugh which gave him an angry glare from Rose.

Unfortunately for her, her fingers accidentally pressed on a few photos of Billie Piper which were quite revealing. The Doctor's laughing halted and his eyes looked like they were about to pop out of his head. Rose's face looked like it was going to turn into a tomato.

"Here let me," the Doctor took the iPad from her hands before she could protest. He tried to look at the task at hand, instead of the exposed photos of fake Rose, as he went back to the previous window. After a couple seconds of awkward silence the Doctor broke the tension.

"Well," his voice was suddenly a high pitched squeak. "didn't know a photo could show that much skin." His attempt to lighten the mood only embarrassed Rose even more.

"So on to your personal life." The Doctor said as he changed the subject. "You were born as Lianne Piper, but your parents changed it to Billie Piper a few months after you were born."

"Billie? Why would they change it to Billie when Lianne's such a pretty name? Honestly, what's with the names around here? Billie's like a boy's name!" Rose pouted.

The Doctor ignored her, his attention more focused on the screen. He had a frown on his face as he read information in her life that created a warm bubbling feeling inside of him. A feeling that was not at all positive. His singular heart seemed to be constricted by an invisible force.

"What is it?" Rose asked him, noticing his brooding gaze on the iPad. _Not another embarrassing detail_. She thought bitterly.

"You're married." He said in a monotone voice.

"I'm what?!" She cried in astonishment.

"With two children." His face showed no emotion, but a storm was stirring inside of him.

"I'm a mum." She breathed out. She looked at the photos that showed her apparent family. She was with a tall, lanky man with short blonde hair. _At least he's a handsome bloke._ _Not as good-looking as…_ She didn't let her thought continue. _But at least he's attractive._ In one of the pictures she was pushing a stroller with a small infant inside with a puff of matching blonde hair. Her husband, whose name was Laurence Fox, was holding hands with a toddler that had the brightest blue eyes.

"No."

"What?" Rose looked at him in surprise.

"No. You're not a mum, or a wife. This isn't us. You are not Billie Piper and neither am I David Tennant." His tone was frighteningly taut.

"But," She began to say.

"No!" He exclaimed, almost yelling at her. "We're in another universe. This. Isn't. Us."

Rose was startled by the Doctor's reaction. If she didn't know better, she would think he was upset at her. It was the same look he gave her when he told her that she could spend the rest of her life with him, but he couldn't spend the rest of his life with her. Yet, how could that be? She didn't think she did or said anything to agitate him, so why was he acting bothered?

"Okay, okay." She told him, trying to extinguish the fire that lit in his eyes. Rose has lived with the Doctor long enough to learn a few tricks to maneuver herself out of any tense situation. "So…what about your life. We need to know about both of our lives and we've only learned about mine, yeah?"

"Yeah, sure," he sighed. He didn't mean to shout at Rose. He wasn't mad at her; this situation they were in wasn't her fault. It's the life she had here. It reminded him of the life that she could have had without him. A normal human life where she could get married and raise a family of her own, not the one she had now, travelling with a silly old Time Lord. Her life was in danger every day when she's with him. _One day she'll realize what she's missing and leave_. He thought. _They all do._

* * *

Rose took the iPad from his hands and typed in David Tennant in the search bar.

"Hey, look at that you've got your own website." She nudged her arm at the Doctor, who was still sulking next to her. She tapped on the link.

A close-up picture of the Doctor's face came on screen. He had a model-like pose, his hair was flat like it was before he fixed it, and he had stubble on his face. Rose has always seen the Doctor clean-shaven, it was strange to see a five o'clock shadow on his face.

"It's a fan site, not an official site." The Doctor said looking over her shoulder.

Rose went back to the other links to find more information.

"You're from West Lothain, Scotland."

"Always knew I was a Scotsman." He said with a small smile.

_Good on you Rose, he's smiling._ Rose thought to herself.

"Ooch aye your Scottish accent is very braw." Rose said, attempting once again to do a Scottish accent.

"No don't do that." His face scrunched in a sour look.

"Oots mon?" She said biting her lip to prevent her from laughing.

"Really don't." He looked as if he was trying not to laugh as well.

Rose looked back at the iPad screen. "It says you wanted to be the Doctor since you were three and that's what inspired you to take on acting."

He had a wide smile now. "Well who wouldn't want to be me? I'm brilliant! Even I wanted to be me."

She shook her head at his boastfulness. "Ooo Doctor," She waggled her eyebrows at him. "Looks like you played Casanova."

"Casanova? Met him once, lost a bet with him, now I owe him a chicken." He rambled.

"Oh!" Rose shook his arm grinning. "You'll like this one! You were in Harry Potter! Played Barty Crouch Jr."

"Really?!" His face lit up with excitement. "Love those books! Ms. J. K. Rowling always knows what to write to make me cry."

"I know." Rose giggled as she remembered that day. She walked into the TARDIS library to find him with a book in his hands and tears in his eyes. She was instantly distressed and asked him what was wrong. To her disbelief, the Doctor told her he was crying over the ending of a Harry Potter book. _Some Oncoming Storm he was_. She thought.

She kept on reading, her face still smiling; a remnant over the memory she thought of. It slowly drooped down to a crestfallen look when she read the next paragraph. The Doctor noticed her expression and looked at her with concern.

"What's wrong?" He asked her.

"You're-" She couldn't say it. She read it, yet saying it would only make the statement even truer.

"I'm what?" _She looks heartbroken_. _What do I do?_ The Doctor thought to himself.

"You're-" She swallowed the heavy lump that sat in her throat.

"Rose, no matter what it is I can take it. Just tell me." He encouraged her; he held her hand and gave it a squeeze.

"You're married too." Her voice was a hoarse whisper. "With two kids and expecting another." She added.

* * *

Rose looked at the pictures that had the Doctor, his wife, and children together. He looked happy. He held a petite baby in his arms while his wife looked at him adoringly. His wife was gorgeous too. She had long _natural_ blonde hair with delicate pixie like features. She looked like a porcelain doll.

In a more updated photo, the woman had a large balloon of a belly that stretched out in front of her while she walked with the Doctor. The stomach seemed to be taunting Rose, sending pangs of jealousy on the woman who carried the Doctor, _her_ Doctor's child. She knew it wasn't him; however, she couldn't help but have those selfish emotions and feel betrayed by him. The man, this David Tennant, looked _so_ much like him. _It's not like he's yours in your own universe either._ A small voice in Rose cruelly told her.

Meanwhile, the Doctor viewed the photos with her in anger. Again, this universe constantly loved to taunt him. It poked and prodded at the things he did not like to think about, the things that were tucked away deep inside his mind. A family was something he knew long ago he would never have. He lost all that in the war and he couldn't regain another, not ever. Not even with the one person he silently wished that he could.

"Oh and look at that." Rose said breaking the Doctor's train of thought. She gave a bitter laugh. "You even dated Madame de Pompadour before you got married."

The Doctor flinched at this information. The French courtesan was an ill topic in their relationship. They tried to avoid talking about the incident out of mutual agreement. He knew it still upset her though. He reasoned to himself that he never meant to hurt her, what he did was only to save the world. It was what they normally did.

Waiting five and a half hours in a partly made of human spaceship while your best friend is gallivanting around with another woman was bound to strike a chord with anyone. Yet, Rose held all her frustration, disappointment, and jealousy inside as she gave the Doctor a hug and a smile when he came back to her. It was through relief that he was alive and well that lifted her spirits. Seeing photos with him and the actress who played her, some lady named Sophia Myles, was just another painful reminder of the girl in the fireplace and what she had felt while alone with Mickey on the spaceship.

All these women, he had a wife here _and_ had dated the mistress of the French king's look-a-like, but it couldn't be her could it? It could _never_ be. Because he never saw her like that, she was his best friend, his companion. Maybe even just his assistant like Sarah Jane had said before.

She saw a photo of her and the Doctor at what seemed to be a red carpet event, she wore a chic dress while the Doctor wore a posh suit. They stood together with his arm around her. "David Tennant stands by his good friend, Billie Piper," it read. _Good friend_. Rose thought. _Cause in whatever universe that's all I'll ever be to him…a good friend._

Funny—because that was exactly what the Doctor thought he would only be to Rose.

Their appetites for the night were cut short by their discoveries. Rose pushed away her chips and the Doctor threw away his half-eaten banana. The effervescent colors in the room felt out of place from the bleak atmosphere. Unintentionally, they simultaneously thought of the same thing.

They had to get out of this universe.


	8. Our Future

The Doctor twisted and turned in his bed. The room was dark and furniture-shaped shadows painted the floors and walls. Rose retired to her room an hour ago; leaving him alone with his thoughts. He normally didn't sleep so early or even sleep at all because of his Time Lord physiology, but now that he had a human body, he felt the events of the day drag him to slumber. He felt comfortable, wearing a white t-shirt and cotton pajama trousers he found in his suitcase. It was silent, with the occasional screeching of tires or honking of horns from the outside. He could hear the hum of the heater in his room. The humming seemed louder now, more like an incessant buzz.

The Doctor sat up from his bed.

The buzzing did not come from the heater. He could hear the sound echoing in the room. Standing up he quickly searched the area for the noise, until he came to the closet. Upon opening it, he saw that his hoodie's pocket was lighting up and vibrating. He remembered that he left Rose's phone in his pocket. He grabbed the device and read the caller ID. It showed "Hubby" with an obnoxious number of hearts by the name.

_Ugh, this must be parallel Rose's husband._ The Doctor thought with repugnance. He ignored the call, pressing the button on the top of the phone to silent the relentless buzzing. Why was he acting this way? This wasn't her, as he stated before, this wasn't her life, yet why did he feel so…jealous?

The Doctor walked back to his bed, still carrying the phone in his hand. He laid down, covering himself with blankets, and faced the celling. Rose was just his friend, his _best_ friend, so why were his feelings telling him that she was so much more than that. He couldn't just say Rose was just another one of his companions because he knew that he was just lying to himself. The thought of losing her one day was different than with his other companions. He _knew_ it would hurt even more. So what made her so unique from the rest of the people he travelled with? Was it that he…no he couldn't have…was it possible that he had fallen in l—his thoughts were interrupted with the sound of buzzing.

The Doctor brought the phone up to his face, annoyed at the continuous caller. He was about to silent the call when he saw that the ID was a different name. This time, Matt was on the screen instead of the bothersome Hubby. Curious, the Doctor answered the phone, ready to hang up once he discovered who was calling.

"Er…hello?" He was already having second thoughts on answering. He used his fake Scottish accent.

"David? Is that you?" A familiar voice answered, more slurred than when he last heard it.

"Um, Doctor?"

The man laughed. "Doctor? Being funny again David? Yeah it's me or Matt really."

"Oh," the Doctor was at a loss for words. "How are you?"

"How am I? Fantastic! Absolutely wonderful!" He garbled. The sound of booming speakers could be heard through the other phone line. The Doctor inferred the room Matt, or the actor who played his future self, was in was crowded because of the plenty of voices he could hear. "Although, it would be better if you and Billie were here. Where is she anyway? Why do you have her phone?"

"Erm, she's in her hotel room, she left her phone in my room." The Doctor told him. _He's definitely drunk._ He thought.

"She was in your room? David, you naughty boy, you're both married." Before the Doctor could interrupt him he went on. "Jenna wants to say hi, say hello Jen!"

A muffled hello could be heard in the background.

"Who's Jen—oh! You're companion! Or the actress who plays her…" the Doctor said as he was figuring it all out.

"Yup she's Clara, Clarity Clarence Clara." Matt babbled.

"About that," _this is technically not asking about a major detail in the future just a small one_. The Doctor reassured himself _._ "How do we manage two companions?"

"Two?" Matt cluelessy asked.

"Yeah, Rose and that girl Clara. How does the Doctor handle two companions? I remember in my day," he said switching into past tense. "Rose was already a handful. But two _girl_ companions…" the Doctor thought of all the mischief and embarrassment they could cause him in the future.

"Rose?" Matt said puzzled. "Billie hasn't been a regular on _Doctor Who_ since 2006, I mean if you count her guest starring in 2008 and now."

The Doctor's mouth hung wide open. "What do you mean she isn't in _Doctor Who_ anymore?" He didn't care now about the consequences of knowing the future, this was about Rose's safety.

"Well her contract ended and she was doing other shows—"

"No, I mean about her character, Rose. What happened to her?" He asked urgently.

"Are you okay mate? You seem more sloshed than me." Matt said laughing hysterically. "Don't know how that's possible."

"Yeah, yeah, Rose?" the Doctor repeated impatiently.

"I dunno…uhh…something about a parallel universe." He told him, unfocused in the conversation. "Shouldn't you know about this? It was your run after all."

He slumped his shoulders. _It was him_. The Doctor thought. He lost her with the face he carried now. This wasn't in some distant future, it was soon. The year 2006 is the date they are presently in and they were in a parallel universe.

"Oh ok," straining to keep his voice calm. He did a fake yawn. "I'm gonna go to sleep, I'm a bit tired. Hope you have fun." The Doctor hung up the phone before the man on the other line responded.

* * *

He nervously played with the tablet that was in his hands, turning it over and over with his fingers. The lamp on the nightstand next to his bed was turned on and illuminated that corner of the room. The Doctor was sitting up, leaning back on the pillows layered on the headboard of his bed.

His gaze was far off in the distance. Inside, his mind battled a tornado of thoughts. Temptation fought strongly now, his barricades in near crumbles. It told him that this was for Rose. He would lose Rose and he could find a way to prevent it. He could save her from whatever was to come. _If it was her choice that made her leave then…No Rose would never leave by choice_. He firmly told himself. Though doubt lingered in his mind with the thought of her alternate self's husband. She wouldn't leave him over someone else would she?

In determination he made his decision. He unwaveringly turned on the iPad and slid his finger across the bar. _This is for Rose_. _This is for Rose._ He thought repetitiously. He didn't concern himself with the timelines; his highest priority was the blonde human that was sleeping a few rooms away.

If the Time Lords could see him now; risking time and the thin fabrics of reality over a girl they would think as insignificant as an insect. They would never understand her importance like he did. Her compassion, her kindness, her ability to make a person better; one that was born in battle full of blood and anger and revenge. It was her who changed him; she was his light when all he saw before was darkness. It was her that gave him the strength to carry on after the Time War, although she would never know her own significance herself.

He typed in Rose Tyler in the search bar of the website. More than thirteen million links came up as well as pictures. These pictures weren't of the unfamiliar Billie Piper, but _his_ Rose. His Rose when she still had longer hair and plumper cheeks and his Rose with her short hair and thinner figure. No matter what look she had it was still her. In the older photos she looked so young and it felt so long ago since then, yet it had only been a year ago for them. In some she stood posed next to him, sometimes him with his leatherjacket or him with his pinstripes. However, in others she wore a dark purple jacket over a pink top while she had a serious expression on her face. The Doctor thought it was rather strange since he had never seen Rose in that jacket much less have seen her look so austere.

Another picture was all it took to almost stop his one heart. It was Rose leaning against a white wall while tears ran down her face. She looked hopeless and utterly defeated, her hand palmed the wall. _What could have happened to make her so devastated?_ The Doctor thought. The photo was labeled "Doomsday".

Doomsday, the word made him shiver.

He typed it in the search bar and tapped on the first link on the page. _It's an episode._ He didn't even finish reading the first paragraph of the summary before his eyes suspended on ten words. His breathe caught as he read them: "This episode marks Rose Tyler's departure as a regular companion."

"No," he whispered as he finally breathed out. "No!" He shouted. He punched the bed with such force that it shook and vibrated the springs.

Rose's words that she spoke when they went to the Olympics suddenly came back to haunt him, "They keep on trying to split us up, but they never will." Her smile was wide and lighthearted. He shouldn't have said those next words, he really shouldn't have. It only jinxed their tranquil moment.

"Never say never ever."

* * *

He stared at the screen. The video was paused and was only waiting for him to press play. Beneath the video read: "Army of Ghosts- _Doctor Who_ Season 2 Episode 12".

Apparently the end of Rose's time as his companion took two episodes, for better effect. _Bloody script writers_.

The Doctor hovered his finger over the play button.

This was it. He was going to see into the future and hopefully still maintain their proper timeline. It was a daring move, even for him.

Finally, without faltering this time, he started the video. The scene opened up with Rose sitting on a bus with a bored expression on her face. Within a few seconds, he was already shocked by a few words that Rose had narrated:

"Planet Earth, this is where I was born, and this is where I died."

* * *

Three rooms away, Rose had trouble sleeping. She tossed and turned as she tried to find a comfortable spot. She managed to sleep for about five hours until she woke up frustrated. Her body wanted more sleep, but her mind was already awake and active.

Rose looked at the clock on her nightstand: it was 4:30 AM. She groaned as she sat up and her bare feet touched the soft carpet floor. She wore a loose tank top and printed pajama pants she found in a suitcase in her room. Her blonde hair was straight again after she had showered and brushed it before going to bed. Rose switched on the lamp near her bedside.

As the light clicked on, her thoughts immediately came to the conversation she and the Doctor had the night before. They both left with high tension between them. It wasn't that they actually fought, but the inner turmoil inside of them that caused an unspoken conflict. She felt guilty for being acrimonious towards the Doctor. It wasn't his fault for having the life he had in this universe; he hadn't tended for them to be in the situation they were in.

Sighing, Rose walked to her bathroom to freshen up. She splashed cool water on her face and examined the aging creases on her face in the mirror. There weren't much like the Doctor had said, yet the differences were there. She did look a few years older, apparently from their research she was 30 years old, ten years older than she was in her universe. Her hair color was different too, it was a more natural blonde than the bleach color she had. Using a black hair tie, she tied her messy bed head hair into a bun.

"I ought to apologize," She said to herself while looking at her reflection. "I was being as rude as him."

With that in mind, she brushed her teeth, put on a white robe with the hotel logo, slippers, and stepped out of her room with her room key and the Doctor's hotel room key in hand. He had given her a spare before she left his room.

The hallway was quiet and empty. Most hotel guests were inside and sleeping since it was early in the morning. The Doctor's room was only a few feet away, which took Rose only a couple seconds to get there. When she got to his room she raised her hand to knock on the door. Rose faltered. _You're so thick, he could be sleeping._ She thought.

She didn't have time to consider whether she should knock on the Doctor's door or not because he opened it for her. She looked at him startled. His face was exhausted; dark circles surrounded his eyes that were suspiciously puffy and red—a tell-tale sign of crying. Her hand was still raised at the door. At first, he looked shocked to see her then his face drooped to look so sorrowful and grief-stricken that Rose felt like she wanted to cry herself.

She was even more stunned when the Doctor gave her a gripping hug, one that seemed desperate. He held her tight like an invisible wind was going to blow her away from his arms.

* * *

The Doctor watched the credits roll and the theme song play. He wiped the tears that dampened his face; his eyes were already swollen from fatigue and tears that had already fallen. He wanted to throw the device in his hands at the wall, at the chair, at something. Something that would take away the anguish he felt.

Fore-knowledge was a terrible thing. One that a time traveler like himself knew so very well. It was like travelling in the past and knowing what was going to happen in the future, whether it was good or bad. He could never warn those in danger, especially if it was fixed moment in time. Another curse of the Time Lords.

He watched seven episodes: Army of Ghosts, Doomsday, Turn Left, the Stolen Earth, Journey's End, and End of Time Part 1 and 2. All of the episodes Rose were in.

He found out how Rose left, she was ripped away from him in another universe. "Pete's World" as he later called it in one episode. He mirrored himself on screen as when tears fell, he found heavy drops spill from his eyes too. She promised him forever only to be gone, from the Doctor's perspective, in half an hour.

He found out about his companions after her, some girls called Martha and Donna. He didn't learn a lot about Martha from the episodes he watched, yet he learned loads about Donna. Based on what he has seen, they became very close, like brother and sister.

Then she came back to him. She came back as a soldier: purple leather jacket, ginormous gun and all. To his surprise, Davros came back as well with a legion of Daleks. It was just as the adventure had started it had ended. He watched as he left Rose on the beach with his metacrisis, a man that looked like him, acted like him, but wasn't him.

He knew why he did it. His metacrisis was human, well mostly human, and he would be able to live the rest of his life with Rose—an adventure he himself could never have.

Afterwards, he was alone. He watched as he erased Donna's memory. He watched as the Master returned. He watched as he defeated Rassilon. He watched as he died _alone_ and the new Doctor, Matt, came in _._

Worst of all, he never told her. _Never._

It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair. It wasn't fair.

This was going to happen to him. He needed to stop this from happening. He wouldn't lose Rose and he wouldn't die alone. Not if he couldn't help it.

He stood up from his bed with the urge to see Rose.

With brisk steps he made his way to the door. When he opened it and saw Rose there, he remembered everything he had watched and all that he had learned. Sorrow flooded his eyes and he couldn't stop himself from flinging his arms around her and holding her tightly. It was a way to remind himself that she was still there, that she was still with him.

"D-Doctor?" Rose spluttered. "Are you alright? What's wrong?"

_Our future._ "Nothing, I'm alright. I'm always alright." He lied. The Doctor held her one more time, memorizing her scent and the feel of her soft blonde hair on his cheek, then dropped his arms and stepped back.

"You sure?" She looked at him in concern. "You look drained…have you been working on the detector?"

"Something like that," he told her as he scratched the back of his neck.

"No wonder. Doctor, you have a human body now. You can't be working all night like you used to." She pushed him into his room.

Always like Rose to worry about him, he thought.

"You're going to bed right now mister." She ordered.

"Yes ma'am." The Doctor said sarcastically. He walked back to his bed and lay down, only to bolt back up again when Rose was about to walk away.

"Wait!" He cried, almost sounding desperate.

Rose turned around quickly and looked at him with surprise.

"What?" She asked him.

"I—" he hesitated, awkwardly looking at the ground. "I can't go to sleep. It's hard here in this universe. It's not comfortable. I—I was wondering if you could sleep here with me for tonight."

"Oh," she was glad the room was dark or else he could see her blushing. "I d—"

"Of course if you don't want to, then that's alright." He interrupted, though his eyes were pleading with hers.

"No, no it's fine. I couldn't sleep myself." She assured him.

She took off her robe and hung it on a chair. She slowly made her way to the bed while the Doctor scooted over to make room. She took off her slippers, climbed in, and lied down. She was astonished to find the Doctor's arm instantly wrap around her.

"Rose?"

"Hmm?" She answered back, shaking off her dazed look.

"Why were you coming to see me?"

"Oh that." She had momentarily forgotten why she went to the Doctor's room in the first place. "I wanted to apologize."

"For what?"

"I was being a prick; I shouldn't have acted like that. It's like you said, this wasn't our universe and it's not like you picked this life, so I'm sorry"

The Doctor was stunned. It wasn't her who should be apologizing to him; it should be him that needed to apologize to her. He saw the future and knew what she was going to go through because of him. She was almost going to be killed in the Void, she would spend two years trying to find him, and in the end she would turn into a soldier.

The Doctor shook his head. "No, Rose _I_ was the prick. I had trouble remembering that myself."

"Well, it official, we were both pricks today." She smiled. The Doctor chuckled, but had other things in mind other than their conversation.

A brief silence lingered between them. The hum of the heater was all that could be heard.

"Oh Rose, what would I do without you." He said suddenly.

"You'd be lost." She said still teasingly.

_I would_. He thought. He held her closer to him; fatigue was already making them both drift to sleep.

He asked her to stay with him because he didn't want to let her go, not yet. Silently in his mind, he promised her that he wouldn't have to.

 


	9. Meet the Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was beta read by ShadowLink5 on fanfiction.net

The sunlight that seeped through the curtains of the sliding glass door poked at her eyes, trying to pull them awake. She didn't want to get up when the bed felt like a fluffy cloud. A cozy, fluffy cloud and a…manly hairy arm? Rose's eyes shot open and slowly turned around to face a sleeping Time Lord beside her. All at once, she recalled what happened the previous day.

She sighed; they were stuck in another universe.

Her stomach growled in complaint. She hadn't eaten much the night before and her appetite had grown since then. Breakfast was a meal she needed this morning.

Cautiously maneuvering herself out of the Doctor's embrace, she got out of bed. She put on her slippers and her robe. Her hair was a bird's nest because she forgot to undo her bun the night before. While redoing her hair, she decided she shouldn't wake up the Doctor to join her. He looked exhausted last night and he deserved more rest.

Using a sticky-pad that was in the drawer of the nightstand, she wrote him a note that she was going out for breakfast. Taking her room key, she walked out the door leaving the spiky-haired man to his dreams.

She didn't notice that when stepping outside and heading towards her room to change, the sound of clicking could be heard. The clicking of a camera.

* * *

The Doctor's eyes fluttered open, expecting to see a bundle of blonde hair next to him. He was surprised to find an empty space with only a indented pillow and crinkled bed sheets beside him. He sat up and looked around. Rose was nowhere to be seen.

He grunted and ran his fingers through his mussed hair. _She's wandered off again._

Before he stood up out of bed, he saw a note stuck to the nightstand. Picking it up, he read it:

Doctor, went downstairs to get breakfast…before you worry your head off. Be back soon. –Rose

Satisfied that he knew where she was, he washed up and got changed. His hair had turned pitifully flat again and his face still looked weary despite having a few hours of rest. The bump on his head was beginning to fade, but was still a noticeable blemish on his skin. He wore another pair of jeans and a casual t-shirt. Normally, the Doctor would once more look over his clothes and complain, although he was too distracted to give it much thought.

He sighed in fatigue, both physically and emotionally.

The wheels in his mind turned as he thought of the problem he now faced. He had to change the outcome of their story. He couldn't die or be separated from Rose like that, it was a rubbish ending.

In Gallifrey, the Time Lords would literally murder him if they found out what he had done and was about to do. They merely observed the rest of the universe while they sat on their high thrones. It was forbidden in his planet to have knowledge of one's own future and try to prevent it. Yet, he was never one to follow the rules.

He just hoped that the future events he had just watched were not fixed points in time. It was something he couldn't tell because they were in another universe. _That_ was a rule he must follow or else grave consequences would come if he didn't. Messing with a fixed point would unravel the fabrics of reality and bring reapers in the midst; something that Rose and he had experienced when she tried to save her father. His death was fixed and there was nothing they could do to stop it.

The annoying buzzing had come back. The noise that protruded his ears came from beneath the wrinkled lump of sheets on the bed. The Doctor rumpled the cloth as he searched for the phone he had left there last night. When he felt the cold metallic object in his hand, he pulled it out and looked at the caller ID. Hubby was once again displayed on screen.

The Doctor frowned at the phone and turned it off. He brought it over to the desk. Then, with his nimble fingers he started pulling the phone apart.

"Better time than any to start working on that detector," he muttered under his breath.

He spent a good twenty minutes disassembling the phone when he heard a knock on the door. While turning around, he saw Rose's spare room key on the drawer under the television. He shook his head and smiled. _She would be the one to lock herself out._ He thought.

He walked over to the door, unlocked it, and turned the handle. He did not looking at the peep hole because he thought it was Rose. However, he was greeted by a different blonde on the other side.

The woman lunged at him, her large stomach pressing against him as she gave him a firm hug. He was stiff in her arms and he looked at her stunned. Beside her was a stroller with a small blonde-haired toddler in it and next to her, a young boy was grinning up at him.

The Doctor was meeting his alternate family.

* * *

"David! Oh my god," She said as she withdrew her arms around him. His face was still frozen in shock at the woman in front of him. She whacked him in the arm.

"Ow!" the Doctor exclaimed and rubbed his arm. He quickly reminded himself that he needed to talk in a Scottish accent. "What was that for?"

"What was that _for?_ " the woman looked at him incredulously. Georgia, the Doctor recalled, was her name. "Nick called and told me you had an accident in filming yesterday. I tried calling you over and over again, but did you respond? No. And I mean look at that bruise on your head," she pointed at the slightly faded bump. "You look horrible."

_Dear lord, domestics._ The Doctor mentally groaned. "I'm sorry; I left my phone in the trailer so I didn't know you called."

"You had me worried," she embraced him again. He awkwardly raised his arms to give her a hug too.

"So…" he cleared his throat and Georgia let go of him. "What are you all doing here?"

"Well, since you have a little bit of break I thought I could surprise you by bringing the kids for a family outing."

Family outing. A nightmare he could only dream of in his worst nights.

"Oh. Good, good that's great." He said while pulling at his earlobe and giving a fake smile.

"Sweetheart, are you sure you're okay?" She asked him in concern.

"Yes why wouldn't I be?"

"For starters, you haven't let us in yet."

It was a face-palming moment. The Doctor, realizing the delayed welcome, hastily brought them all inside and shut the door.

"Dad!" The boy gave him a hug when he entered. "So what did you film already? Were you in the TARDIS? Have you worked with Daleks yet? What did Matt Smith do? Was he as awesome as he is in the telly?" His whirlwind of questions gave even the Doctor, who is very accustomed to rambling, a headache.

"Er-" was all the Doctor could reply.

"Tyler! Give your Dad a break. Besides, you know he can't tell you." His mother scolded him.

Tyler pouted and the Doctor gave him an apologetic look. The little girl in the stroller, who seemed to be around two or three, also babbled a hello to him.

"So what should we do today?" She heaved out a breath as she sat on the couch, her pregnant belly bulged on top of her.

Of all the places he could be now, Cardiff was the least exciting. He could be whizzing to another planet with Rose. They could have been going to Barcelona, a planet they had forgotten to travel to, buried by all the plans of other adventures.

"Uh…" the Doctor racked his brain for all the attractions he knew that were in Cardiff. "The bay?" He suggested.

"No, there are probably loads of _Doctor Who_ fans there that would recognize us."

"Oh…well…we could go to," a place struck in his mind. "Cardiff Castle!"

"Yeah," she nodded her head in agreement. "That sounds better."

Relief ran through him as he heard a knock on the door. He walked over to open it and another sight surprised him. It was Rose with a plate of banana pancakes in one hand, although she wasn't alone. Her husband, or rather fake husband, stood next to her, holding her other hand.

* * *

Rose had just finished eating her breakfast and was going up to bring the Doctor some pancakes when she had bumped into her alternate self's husband. The confrontation had left her floundering as he questioned her why she wasn't answering her phone or why she hadn't bothered to contact him. She rapidly countered his questions with smart excuses; having had practice with her mum's questioning. He soon forgave her with a hug and a quick peck on the lips that had made her eyes become as round as saucers.

Afterwards, she dragged the tall blonde man up the elevator and to the Doctor's room. She told him that she needed to give the pancakes to the Doc-David when he watched her bewilderingly. Upon arriving, the Doctor looked at the pair with raised eyebrows then gave her a warning look. It was as if to say "not now, don't say anything now", but Rose ignored it.

"Doctor, I kind of need help." She said through her teeth, muffling the sentence from her fake husband. "Here you go David," her voice now loud enough for the man beside her to hear. "Banana pancakes for breakfast." She handed him the plate of food.

In one hand, the Doctor took the plate, and in the other he shook her fake husband's hand. "Laurence, right?"

"David! It's been a long time. How are you mate?" Laurence asked him, giving a warm, friendly look.

"Yes it has. I'm fine." The Doctor told him as he tried to look at ease.

"Sweetheart, who's at the door?" A female voice asked from inside the room. A blonde woman's face popped out from behind the Doctor to look at the unexpected guests. Rose gawked at her.

"Who the hell is-" Rose's gaze somewhat relaxed in recognition, but was still rigid and tense. "Oh she's your w-"

"Billie!" Georgia gave her a hug. The protuberant belly Rose was eyeing at the night before was now physically pressing against her. "It's been ages since I've seen you. And you Laurence." She embraced the man as well. "How are the kids?"

"They're doing alright. Had to leave them home at a quick notice because of the Mrs. here" He nodded towards Rose. "Gave me a bit of scare. Wasn't answering my calls or anything."

"You too, eh?" She chuckled. "They just had an accident and they don't think of the ones at home worrying about them." Georgia opened the door wider. "Well don't be shy, come on in."

Rose gaped when she saw the two children inside. _She had to bring the whole family,_ She thought. The boy that was previously bouncing on the bed had stopped and ran over to Rose when he saw her.

"Aunt Billie!" He wrapped his short arms around her.

"Oh hello." Rose stiffly patted his head. The Doctor watched her in amusement.

"So," the boy said in a hushed, secretive tone. "What did you and Dad do on set? Fight Cybermen? Race through different constellations? Meet the Master?" His eyes pleaded with her to give him information.

"Tyler," Georgia glared at him. "What did I tell you? No asking your dad, your Aunt Billie or anyone else involved with the 50th about the filming. You know how confidential they are."

"Sorry mum." He mumbled.

"You brought your kids?" Laurence asked.

"Yeah, thought it would be fun to have a family outing since David's on break. Look around a little in Cardiff." The pregnant woman told him.

"That sounds fun. Where you all headed?"

"We were thinking about going to Cardiff Castle…do you two wanna join?" She invited.

"Um…" Rose's fake husband contemplated. "I'm not sure. I have to go to work tomorrow and I was thinking I could just be with Billie. We could-"

"Yes." Rose interrupted. "We would love to come."

She didn't think she could be capable of being alone with a man who thought he was married to her. A complete stranger nonetheless. Besides, she wouldn't leave the Doctor alone with that woman. She couldn't stand the thought of it.

"C'mon…erm…honey." She urged him. "We could all enjoy it together."

"Well," he thought a few seconds more. "Alright. I can't stay overnight though."

Rose and the Doctor both let out sighs of relief.

Georgia came up to the Doctor and kissed him on the cheek, causing Rose to flinch. "So are we off then?"

* * *

The rest of the day was utter torment for the time travelling duo. The Doctor hated domestics more and more, and Rose was learning to hate it. The journey had started out with both of them holding hands, but not each other's. No, they were holding their spouse's hands, the ones that this world had so ingeniously invented for them.

They both went in separate cars on the way there; Rose went with Laurence to his car and the Doctor to Georgia's minivan. It had made them miss the TARDIS. Simple human vehicles could not even compare to the Doctor's grand ship. Instead of the rough, gripping ride the two were so accustomed to; Rose was handling small talk with her fake husband while the Doctor covered his ears as his fake daughter threw a tantrum. When they arrived at the castle, the Doctor looked at Rose and Rose had looked at the Doctor. Their eyes communicated to each other the suffering they had just experienced.

The rest of the trip spared them no sympathy. The castle itself was impressive with the historic, medieval architecture. The baroque paintings displayed on the walls would have amazed Rose and the Doctor. The small wooden figures sculpted on the bases of the ceiling and walls would have made the Doctor natter on about the history. They _would_ have appreciated it, if they weren't occupied with the family that clung to them.

They were together, yet they weren't together. The Doctor pushed the stroller of his fake daughter, Olive, which he later learned her name was. Georgia's arm was looped around his as they walked and she held Tyler's hand. They looked like a typical British family. A few feet behind was Rose and Laurence. His hand entwined with hers, and stood at the spot the Doctor usually took: next to her. And that's how they were the whole day. Rose watched as Georgia snuggled her head on the Doctor's shoulder. When the couple wasn't looking, the Doctor glanced behind him to see Laurence have his arm around Rose's waist. Then, Georgia would occasionally ask Rose to take a picture of them, which Rose complied with through gritted teeth.

The issue was, Rose didn't find anything wrong with the woman. No matter how long she inspected her for any flaws, either in her personality or her looks, she couldn't find one. Perfect. She was _perfect._ Georgia was very friendly and out-going with Rose; that she didn't have a reason to have a problem with her-except, she wanted to. She _wanted_ to have a reason so she wouldn't seem so petty with her envious feelings.

The Doctor didn't have time for this, he really didn't. He wanted to just be with Rose. The knowledge that filled his mind of them in the future made him all the more crave their time together. It reminded him that sometimes the good things and the people you lo—love are the ones that are the quickest to go. However, she was currently occupied in the arms of another man, while he was with another blonde.

The day dragged on, slower than they could possibly imagine. The Doctor dealt with a few complaints from his kids. Rose fended off her husband's affections. When the family outing had finally ended they were back at the hotel. Laurence had left soon after, speedily making a quick retreat so he could get to work the next morning. Rose, the Doctor, and Georgia were all that remained of the party. Georgia and the Doctor's children, or was it Georgia and David's children, were asleep on the Doctor's bed as the adults continued socializing. If you would call it socializing, it was more of a one-sided conversation to Georgia as the Doctor and Rose couldn't relate or didn't know half the things she said.

"And I'm trying to write this script for that show I told you about," she droned. "David's been real supportive. I guess that's what good husbands are for, isn't that right sweetheart?"

"Hmm?" the Doctor said, he zoned out a couple of sentences before. "Oh yes. Right. Yeah."

He and Georgia sat on the side of the bed near their sleeping children. Rose sat alone on the couch.

"So, Georgia. How long were you planning to stay?" She fidgeted in her spot. The sooner Georgia left, the sooner she and the Doctor could work on getting out of the nightmarish universe.

"Well…I thought I would stay for only today, but…" she nuzzled her way around the Doctor's arm so he had it around her. "I could stay, for the night."

"I-I, um," the Doctor stammered. He was saved as Georgia's phone rung.

"Hello? Oh yeah, they're with me." She looked at the Doctor and Rose. "It's for you two." She put the phone on speaker.

"David? Billie?" A man's voice could be heard from the phone.

"Yes?" they answered simultaneously.

"It's Nick. I couldn't contact you both by phone since you weren't answering, so I called Billie's husband first. He told me to call Georgia. Anyway, I wanted to tell you that we won't be able to extend that break of yours. Steven wants to see more progress in the production since there's a deadline we have to meet, and he'll be coming to check on it soon. So we'll probably start again tomorrow. Is that okay with you two?"

"Yeah, yeah that's fine." The Doctor responded, nudging himself out of Georgia's hold.

"Alright, I'll see you both tomorrow." The line hung up.

"Well," Georgia said as she stood up, heaving as she did so. "I guess we've got to go now since you all have to get up early for work in the morning."

She went over to her children and woke up Tyler. She tried carrying Olive to her stroller, but the Doctor stopped her.

"Hey," he put his hand on her arm. "You shouldn't be carrying her, you're pregnant, after all." He lifted the little girl to the stroller.

"Who are you then, my doctor?" She smiled at him.

"Quite right." He grinned at her joke.

Rose watched them dolefully. _They make a good couple,_ Rose thought.

Georgia took the handles of the stroller, once Olive was strapped in by the Doctor (who had some trouble with the belts at first and had Rose help him), and walked towards the door. Tyler was more reluctant to go as he tightly embraced the Doctor.

"No Dad! You've got to let me come with you. I wanna see the set! Pleeease!" He pleaded.

"Tyler Tennant! Your father has work tomorrow and he isn't allowed to bring his kids." Georgia told him and grabbed the boy's hand. Tyler pouted, but followed her out the door.

"Okay, I'll see you in a few days," she said to the Doctor as she opened the door. The Doctor and Rose followed her from behind. Georgia went up to the Doctor and raised herself up on her tippy-toes. She kissed him which caused a various amount of reactions in the room. Rose and the Doctor practically had the same face on: wide eyes and pale complexion. Tyler squeamishly looked away in fear of barfing. Olive made noises that sounded like kissing as she puckered her lips together. When Georgia pulled away, Rose and the Doctor's expression stayed frozen on their faces. Georgia didn't seem to notice as she waved them goodbye and left.

Rose was the first to unfreeze; she pulled at a strand of her hair and walked back to the couch to sit down. She looked at the ground with resignation.

"She's nice," Rose mumbled.

"Wha-what?" the Doctor said, still disoriented from his lip to lip encounter.

"Your wife, she's nice and pretty."

"Oh, yeah I guess she is," he raised an eyebrow at her. He didn't know where she was going with this.

"You know Doctor…we could just stay in this universe…if you want." Her eyes were glued to the floor; she wasn't willing to look up at him.

"What? Why?" His eyes grew bigger. " _You_ don't want to stay here, do you?"

"No it's just," she clicked her shoes together nervously. "You have a family and everything here. Beautiful wife with adorable kids. You're also human. You don't have to live on while everyone dies and you're not the last of your kind. Which means…you never have to be alone here."

There was a long, silence filled pause before the Doctor could respond. "No Rose I—"

"Just a thought." She shrugged and gave a small smile, one that did not reach her eyes. "We have work tomorrow, yeah?" She stepped towards the door with a quickened pace. "Don't want to be late."

What the Doctor was going to say was that he wasn't alone. He had her and that was all he ever needed. Georgia and his children could never replace Rose because they would never compare to her. _She_ was his family. And, he realized that it didn't matter how short of a lifespan she had because it's better to have done, than to have never have done at all. Those times they would spend together would live long in his hearts after she has gone and he would cherish them. He wouldn't live his life with regrets of an unconfessed love because he was scared of tomorrow; watching his future slapped him into realization that he should focus on today.

However, she had already shut the door; leaving his words unspoken.

 


	10. Mediocre Acting and Uncovering the Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Radio Times, is a real news program and the magazine, Gossip Celebrity, is fake. This chapter was beta read by ShadowLink5 on fanfiction.net

 

Instantly after stepping out of the hotel, lights flashed and people yelled out to them. Rose and the Doctor were getting the real celebrity treatment.

It was early in the morning, a cloudy day with pale sunlight shining above them. The Doctor and Rose were headed off to their fake jobs; a car was waiting for them in the front entrance. Unfortunately, they had to maneuver themselves around the crowd of fans and paparazzi. A path was made for them as security guards blocked the frenzy of people out of their way.

"Oh my god, it's David Tennant!"

"Billie! Look over here!"

"David! David!"

"Awww, Rose and the Doctor, totally ship!"

"David! Billie! Smile for _Radio Times_."

"David, you changed your hairstyle! Sporting your old hairstyle, are you?"

Fan girls squealed in excitement at the pair's appearance. Children raised their toy sonic screwdrivers around in attempt to impress their television heroes. Dozens of cameras shuttered and clicked.

"Follow my lead," The Doctor murmured to Rose.

The Doctor straightened his position and walked towards the car. He smiled and waved at the cameras. He even gave a few autographs to some fans.

Rose gaped at the Doctor. He seemed so relaxed and used to the situation. She tried copying him, smiling and waving. She managed it, only tripping a little in her step as she made her way towards the car. A person grabbed her arm before she could go any further.

"Oi!" Rose shouted.

The person was a woman who had dark hair held up in a tight bun, wore thick-lensed glasses, and had heavily added red lipstick besmirched on her lips. A large, bulky camera dangled around her neck with a recording device in her hand.

"Billie! Hi, Tawnie Brown from _Gossip Celebrity_." Her hand was still firmly gripped on Rose's arm. Before Rose could open her mouth, she prattled on. "I just wanted to ask if you've heard about the recent rumors."

"What rumors?"

"Oh you know," the woman smiled and rolled her eyes. "How you and David have gotten a little _closer_ since shooting?"

"What are you talking about?" Rose's forehead crinkled as she frowned.

"Don't deny it we've got pictures and some sources. Shame on you, you're both married." Her smile reminded Rose of a gator's grin, one that was ready to snap.

"Billie!" the Doctor said from behind her, his arm instantly linking around her arm. There was always the Doctor to come to her rescue. "I lost you there. We've got to go to the studio now." He glared at Tawnie who had let go of Rose's arm. They started walking away from the woman and to the car.

"In a few hours you'll see!" she called out, taking a picture of them. "We'll expose the two of you!"

They got into the car and the chauffer shut the door behind them.

"What was that all about?" The Doctor looked at Rose in concern.

"I dunno," she said waving off her encounter. "She told me she knew something about us. I think she was kind of looney though."

"Maybe…" the Doctor made a thoughtful look. "So," he blinked out of his contemplative gaze, "Rose Tyler, are you ready to act?"

"Act?!" She exclaimed.

"Of course, that's what actors do, act."

"Ughhh," Rose groaned and hunched over to place her hands on her face.

"Oh what's wrong? Acting's not that bad, it's like lying or pretending, but with a bit more pizzazz."

"And you would know about lying and pretending, Doctor." She retorted.

"Oi! Weell," He tugged on his ear lobe. "That's beside the point. The point is, acting's not all bad. We do it all the time when we travel; acting like we're part of the crowd." The Doctor brought out a strange-looking gizmo out of his pocket and started tinkering with it.

"What's that, then?" Rose watched as his hands twirled and tweaked the gadget.

"It's the wormhole detector, which I renamed the Timey Wimey Detector."

"Timey Wimey?" Rose smirked. "Where did you come up with that?"

"Oh you know," He scratched the back of his head, "In a big ball of stuff."

Really, the Doctor had found the term while researching about _Doctor Who_. It was a statement that he would say in the future and he thought it was quite clever of him. "Big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff." Brilliant!

"How long do you think you'll be finished with it?" Rose asked him anxiously.

"I think it would take me about," He began counting his finger. "If I have some time today and tonight…it'll be done by midday tomorrow."

"Seriously?" Her eyes brightened at the good news.

"Yup, told you I was impressive." He waggled his eyebrows at her.

Rose playfully shoved him. "Shut up."

"Oh!" he blurted out as he remembered something. "Don't use the microwave in my room. I used some parts so it might tend to blow."

She sighed and shook her head. "Doctor, Doctor, Doctor. What are we going to do with you? Well, if it helps to take me back to our universe, then by all means keep the microwave."

Take me back. Those words triggered the memory of her against that white wall. Her face smudged with make-up and tears. "Take me back! Take me back! Take me back!" she screamed, pounding on the cold surface. And he was on the other side, desolately touching the wall that kept them apart.

He shrugged away the thought and took Rose's hand in his. She raised one eyebrow at him, but held his hand all the same. Two hands that fit together like the pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. A perfect fit with nothing to separate them in between.

* * *

When they arrived at the studio, another horde of fans and paparazzi were waiting for them. It was absolutely deafening and not something Rose or the Doctor could think they would ever get used to. They would take fighting Slitheen over crazy fan girls and photographers any day.

They walked through the path that was made for them. Security guards and metal barricades bordered them off from the swarming media. Rose walked next to the Doctor and mirrored his movements; beaming at the cameras and waving. They were about to walk in the front door of the studio when the Doctor noticed a little girl that was straining to see them, standing on her toes and stretching her neck like a giraffe's.

Before Rose knew it, the Doctor was at the barricade where the small child was. She slightly jogged to keep up with him.

"Mum!" the little girl shook the leg of the woman beside her. "It's the Doctor!"

"Yes, yes I am." The Doctor grinned at the girl. "Now who might you be?"

"Kaylie." Her eyes widened as she saw Rose approach. "Rose Tyler!"

"Hello," Rose smiled at her.

"Rose is one of my favorite companions!" the girl proclaimed to the Doctor. "She's brave and smart. Aaand you _love_ her."

"What?!" The duo exclaimed.

"Yeah you do," she said matter-of-factly. "The Doctor loves Rose and Rose loves the Doctor. It's like a princess meeting her prince charming. Your TARDIS is like your castle where you can both live happily ever after! The ending's sad though." Her smile drooped to a sulk. "I didn't like Doomsday."

"What's Doomsday?" Rose asked her curiously.

"You don't know?" the girl looked at her in surprise. "It's when you lea-"

"Kaylie!" the Doctor cut her off. "Would you want an autograph?"

She vigorously nodded her head and the Doctor and Rose signed her shirt. Rose and the Doctor smiled at each other when they looked at what was printed on the shirt: the silhouette of the Doctor with "Allons-y" above it.

"Okay all done." The Doctor said as he capped the marker and gave it back to Kaylie's mother.

"Nice meeting you Kaylie," Rose waved goodbye.

"Don't forget to marry her! A princess always needs a prince." the little girl shouted to them as they made their way back to the studio.

The Doctor coughed while Rose's face flushed red. "Guess you're Princess Rose now, not Dame Rose." The Doctor teased.

As soon as they entered the building, a man ushered them in. He wore an earpiece and a black polo with khakis. He held a clipboard and pen in his hands.

"There you two are! We've been waiting for you lot! Alright, first you both need to go to hair and make-up, next is wardrobe." He agilely led them down different hallways and towards the right door. Inside were several mirrors in a row against the wall. Fragrances danced in the air like in the perfume section at the mall. A couple of ladies with styled hair and heavily added make-up were waiting for them, brushes and eyeliners in hand.

The Doctor's breath hitched at the sight. Rose smirked knowingly at his reaction.

"David you alright?" the man said as he directed them inside the room.

"Yeah, just a quick question. Is it necessary for me to wear make-up?"

"What do you mean?" The man looked at him confused.

"I mean my complexion and strikingly good looks are all natural. Why spoil it with the use of make-up?" He told him arrogantly. Rose couldn't help but giggle at his attempt to avoid the cosmetics.

The man laughed. "Always the jokester, aren't you David? Well you two better hurry along. The rest of the cast is ready." He left the Doctor and Rose sitting in chairs at the hands of the make-up crew.

"I'm a Time Lord. Time Lords don't wear make-up." he angrily muttered as the women started powdering his face.

Rose cracked up, her sides hurting from the laughter. They were powdering her face too. "It's not that bad," she said, mimicking his previous words. "Bit more pizazz."

He ignored her and made a sour face. Theater was much more than the Doctor had thought it would be. Another challenge that seemed like child's play from all the other strenuous things he's been through, which nevertheless proved to test his capabilities.

* * *

When their make-up was done, they were dressed in their costumes and headed on set. The Doctor wore his cherished pinstriped suit, yet his hair was not as spiky as it should have been (much to his agitation). Rose looked puzzlingly at her wild outfit. Was this really what she wore it in the future? And, why was she called the Moment in the script?

Lights and cameras surrounded the room. It was the same set that the Doctor and Rose had woken up to when they first arrived in the universe. Wooden shuttered walls filtered light into the area. Ropes hung around posts and crates were stacked together and covered in cloth. Leaves and dust coated the floor. The set basically looked like a large storage shack. Again, the Doctor felt that niggling feeling in the back of his head like he should remember something. He'd seen this place before and it was giving him this sense of déjà vu.

The Doctor looked around at the setting. Two TARDIS props were in the room and stood side by side from each other. The other actors were already there: Matt, who plays his future incarnation; John Hurt, who plays his hidden incarnation, and a brunette girl who was talking to Matt; the Doctor guessed she was his future companion. What was her name? Jenna, who plays Clara. The roles and names spun around in the Doctor's head and made him a little dizzy.

When Matt saw them, he walked over to them grinning. "Hey! Bout time you two showed up. You all set for rolling?"

"Sure," the Doctor said enthusiastically, although he rather they didn't start so soon. Rose and the Doctor were given a copy of the script while they were getting their hair and make-up done, but it didn't give them enough time to actually memorize it or even look at it. They merely gave it a cursory glance. The Doctor was good at acting, if it was his own material. Constricting his skills with a script was a whole different genre.

Rose wasn't sure what she should do. She felt like taking the Doctor's hand and running away from the bright lights and loud sounds. The only acting she's ever done was in school plays when she was younger. This was far from her league of cardboard-made props and parent audiences.

"Okay everyone, take your places!" the director, Nick Hurran, called out.

A group of people led Rose to sit on a large box draped with cloths. The Doctor was guided inside the TARDIS prop, the one that's exterior looked more like his. Matt and Jenna walked into the other TARDIS prop and John stayed in the middle of the room. A box with a big red button sticking out of it was brought out and put beside him.

Once everyone was in place and settled, Nick sat in his official director's chair. "Action!" he yelled.

The sounds of the TARDIS engines played on a speaker. Matt, Jenna, and the Doctor stepped out of their individual prop and walked towards John. However, the Doctor could not take one more step when he saw John with the box. The red button stained and transfixed his eyes with that color. A color that symbolizes blood and war. The prop was in the shape of the Moment, the weapon he had used to destroy his entire race. Were they reenacting that day, the worst day of his life? If so, then why was Rose, or him, or his future incarnation there? He didn't remember them being there. Lines in the script came back to him, the words the Moment and Gallifrey popped into his thoughts.

Suddenly, a spark ignited in his mind and had awoken memories he had forgotten. Memories that were taken away because of time streams being out of sync were stoked like a fire and burned clearly in his head. He fell to his knees as realization took a hold of him and everything made sense.

* * *

"David? David?" Matt called him, kneeling down to face him.

"Cut!" Nick shouted.

"Doc-David? What's wrong?" Rose quickly made her way to him.

The Doctor looked up at Rose. She looked like the Moment. The Moment had taken her form.

" _Hello? Is somebody there?"_

_"It's nothing, it's just a Wolf."_

"Doctor," Rose whispered to him. "Are you alright?"

_"I think- Rose Tyler. No, sorry, no, no. In this form I'm called…Bad Wolf."_

"I'm fine," he announced to the slowly gathering crowd of people surrounding him. "Just a little headache. It's gone now."

_"You're the interface?"_

_"They must have told you the Moment has a conscience."_

"You sure you're okay to keep going?" Nick asked him.

"Yup," he answered, popping his p.

Gallifrey wasn't gone. It was alive in a pocket universe! Oh yes! That's why everything looked familiar. He has already been here once before. This wasn't the time he killed his own people, this was the time he saved them. And it would also explain why Rose was there as well. She was playing the Moment.

His Rose. Of all the past, present, and future companions and people he had met to choose from, the Moment had chosen Rose. He knew _no one_ would be more important than Rose in his life ever again. Her name became a permanent tattoo etched on his hearts the moment they had met.

"Okay let's keep rolling," Nick said as he walked back to his chair. Everyone else got back to their positions. "And…Action!"

The Doctor knew how he was going to act; he'd watched this scene play out live; although, he wasn't in the face he had on now. He was looking through eyes worn with the terrors of battle. A wrinkled face, white hair, and leather jacket. A face that looked exactly like John Hurt's.

The TARDIS sound wooshed in the speakers. The three actors stepped out of the TARDIS props.

"Told you he hasn't done it yet," Jenna played out her line.

They stepped towards John.

"Go away now, all of you. This is for me." John turned around to face the ominous-looking box.

The Doctor remembered saying that. His demeanor disguised with determination, yet an internal conflict raged in his mind. Pushing that button was against all he stood for. He was "the Doctor," the man who made people better, not the man who destroyed them.

He realized it was his line now. "Oh! It's my turn…" He heard a hand slapping a forehead and he assumed it might have been the director. "These events should be time-locked. I no-no I mean, _we_ shouldn't even be here." The Doctor made an overly dramatic serious face.

"So something let us through," Matt continued.

It was Rose's turn to speak and everyone was waiting for her to say her line.

"You clever boys." She said robotically. She made a forced smile, one that looked more constipated than happy.

"What the hell?" Nick whispered to the man next to him. The guy shrugged and was as confused as him.

"Go back," John went on. "Go back to your lives. Go and be the Doctor that I could never be. Make it worthwhile."

"All those years, burying you in my memory." This time the Doctor spoke from the heart.

"Pretending that you didn't exist. Keeping you a secret, even from myself." Matt said.

"Pretending you weren't the Doctor, when you were the Doctor more than anyone else," those words the Doctor remembered- meant so much to him at that moment. Now it was being spoken for the benefit of entertaining the viewers of the show.

"You were the Doctor when it wasn't possible to get it right."

"But this ti- wait, can we just stop for a minute." The Doctor abruptly said.

Everyone groaned. "Cut!" yelled Nick. "David? What's wrong now?"

"Isn't this a bit too dramatic?"

"Dramatic?"

"Yes. I mean I don't think the Doctor would be too emotional like this, yeah?" the Doctor told him. This amazing part of his life that he had just rediscovered shouldn't be watched by some sci-fi fanatic audience.

"You don't think the Doctor would be too emotional…when he's about to burn his own planet?" The director looked at him incredulously with one eyebrow raised. Everyone else was staring at him quizzically, including Rose.

"No, No. The Doctor's heroic, brave, and strong. No dramatics or domestics for him. No thanks."

"I-I…David are you sure you're alright?"

"Fine and dandy."

"Okay, let's do this one more time, shall we?" Nick said impatiently.

* * *

It took a couple more takes until Nick Hurran realized they weren't getting far with Rose's bad acting and the Doctor contradicting the script. With reluctance, he called for a lunch break.

The Doctor and Rose walked through the halls as they looked for the lunch room.

"So what was that about?" Rose asked him.

"What was what about?"

"The Doctor not being dramatic."

"Well, I'm not."

"Really? So what about the first time I met you. What were those words you told me?"

"Stop it," he told her smiling.

"I can feel it," she deepened her voice and imitated the northern accent he had before. "The turn of the Earth. The ground beneath our feet spinning at a thousand miles an hour. And the entire planet is hurtling around the sun at sixty-seven thousand miles an hour and I can feel it. We're falling through space-"

"Okay, okay, sometimes I can be a little dramatic, but that was only to impress you."

"Oh was it now?"

"Weell," the Doctor halted all of a sudden. "Rose," he whispered. "Get behind me."

"What? Why are you being-"

"Shhhh! Get behind me!" he said urgently and Rose obeyed him.

"What is it?" she whispered.

"Don't freak out…there's a Dalek."

"A what?!"

"Shush! There's a Dalek right there next to that door." He gestured to the ominous figure that was standing only a few feet away from them. It was definitely a Dalek.

"What are we going to do?"

"Dalek!" He yelled, briskly stepping towards the villainous creature. He pulled his sonic screwdriver out of his suit.

"Doctor!" her eyes widened at his impetuous actions.

"How did you get here? How did you find me?" He ignored Rose and pointed his sonic screwdriver at the Dalek.

Rose looked at him and placed her fingers on her temples to massage them. "Doctor, your sonic is a prop, remember?"

"Oh," he looked at the sonic as he realized his blunder. "Right."

They stared at the Dalek, expecting for movement or hear the monotone voice, yet they did not hear a sound. Not even a little "EXTERMINATE."

"It's not moving," Rose observed. "The Dalek's eye stalk doesn't have its blue light on."

"Yes, so it would seem."

They were too fixated on the Dalek to realize that someone was walking towards them from behind.

"Hey guys…are you playing with that Dalek prop?" the brunette girl asked.

They jumped at the girl's voice and whipped around to look at her.

"Dalek _prop_?" They both asked.

"Yeah Dalek prop, what'd you think it was?"

The Doctor cleared his throat. "Erm, Jenna right?"

"Yeah?"

"We were just headed to the lunch room; do you know where that is?"

"Sure, I was just headed there myself. We could all go together."

They followed her as she turned two corridors and entered a double-door room. A large cafeteria came onto view upon opening the doors. An aroma of food wafted in the air. Long tables were aligned in rows where people were scattered about the room either chatting or eating. Voices layered each other and muffled the actual conversations.

"David! Billie!" Someone called them. Matt walked over to them with a tray of food in his hands.

"Hey!" He had a goofy grin on his face. "How're you guys? You two didn't seem yourselves on set."

"Oh just a little trouble getting into character," the Doctor reasoned.

The Doctor, Rose, and Jenna grabbed a tray and scooped some food that was laid out for them. They headed towards a table and took their seats; Rose and the Doctor sat next to each other while Jenna and Matt sat across from them.

"So David, did you find out your question the other day?"

"What question?" the Doctor asked him, confused.

"You know about Rose and how she left."

"What?" Rose was alerted by her name being said.

"David was asking me the other day about how you l-"

"Yeah," the Doctor interrupted. "I found the answer, I just had trouble remembering. Thanks."

"So what did he ask you?" Rose disregarded the Doctor and fully regarded Matt.

"He wanted to know why Rose, your character, left in _Doctor Who_."

"What?!"

"Yeah I know," Matt told her, believing her shocked face was due to David's inconsistent memory. "It was a pretty significant part of his run. I don't know how he could have forgotten it."

"Matt, I think we all get it," the Doctor said haughtily.

"Oh Doomsday was the worst," Jenna went on. "I bloody bawled my eyes out when I was watching it."

"Wait, so if I'm- I mean if Rose is gone." Rose almost choked on her words. "Why am I in this episode?"

"Well you're not really playing Rose now," Matt explained. "You're the Moment's interface who's taking on the form of Rose. I thought your part was clear to you."

"And could you make, I dunno, a little summary of how exactly Rose left?" Rose hesitantly asked.

"Billie," the Doctor warned. He made a fake laugh. "Billie's just kidding; I think she knows how her character left."

"No, sorry," Rose insisted, glaring at the Doctor. _He's hiding something._ She thought. "My memory's a bit hazy. Could you remind me?"

"I can help," Jenna said, winking at her. "I've been catching up on the episodes for the role."

And so, she told her. The story of Doomsday and the tearful goodbye at Dårlig Ulv-Stranden. The reuniting when the darkness had come and the metacrisis was born. They were destined to be separated. It was written in the scripts and in their fate. She would be left on the same beach by the Doctor to live the rest of her life with the metacrisis.

* * *

"Was that all true, Doctor?" She said softly, her tone signaling that she was on the brink of tears.

Lunch had ended and people were already getting ready to film again. It had felt like the longest lunch the Doctor and Rose had ever experienced. After Jenna had told her everything, Rose was speechless and stared out in the distance. The Doctor watched her worriedly, but she wouldn't face him. They were silent the entire time while Jenna and Matt continued their conversation, oblivious to the pair's tension. Once the break was over and people started getting up, Rose took the Doctor's arm, gripping it tightly. She excused themselves from Jenna and Matt and dragged him to a room where she didn't see anyone around. It looked like a film editing room with a number of screens, machinery, and buttons placed around the room.

"Yes." He couldn't look at her so his eyes wandered around the room.

"You looked it up, didn't you, even though you told me not to?"

"Yes."

"We're-" this question was hard for her to say. She took a deep breathe. "We're going to get separated for two years?"

"Yes."

"Then I'll find my way back to you and you just desert me? You would just leave me with your clone?" She asked him angrily. She was hurt by his future actions and his short, simple remarks towards them. He didn't deny it or defend himself, which made it much worse.

"He's not a clone, he's a _metacrisis._ There's a difference. And yes, yes I would. He would have a human life span and would be able to grow old with you; something that I can never do. I told you once before: humans wither and die while I have to live on."

"But he wouldn't be _you_. Why? Why do you constantly send me away? Don't think I forgot about the game station. You always send me away. Now, answer me this; why?"

"Because I-" He stopped himself. Ordinarily, he wouldn't have dared continue his sentence and would rapidly change the subject. However, he knew better now. It was then that he knew it was time to finally say those three words. Three words that would never be said in the future that he wanted to say right now. It was now or never.

"Because you what, Doctor?"

"It's because I-" _C'mon Doctor just a few simple words._ He thought, rubbing his eye.

"Doctor, look at me." His wandering eyes locked onto her face.

Two years of avoiding and closing off his feelings for her were now opening. It was all bleeding through and nothing could prevent what was wanted to be said.

"Oh for God's sakes, Rose Tyler I need to say this because it _does_ need saying. It's because I-"

Just then, Matt Smith walked into the room. The floppy-haired man bit into an apple and spit the contents out of his mouth. "Ugh, remind me why I'm eating an apple. Apples are rubbish, not that I'm quoting my character or anything. But seriously? Why am I eating an apple?"

He looked up and noticed the Doctor and Rose. "Oh I'm sorry, am I interrupting something?"

"YES! Yes you are," he started pushing Matt out of the room. "We're rehearsing!" And he slammed the door on Matt's stunned face.

"Doctor what are you-" She began to ask him.

"Rose Tyler, I love you." He ended his sentence with his head bending down so his lips met hers.

 


	11. Finally Out in the Open

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta read by ElvishPenguin12 and ShadowLink5 on fanfiction.net

He was . . . kissing her. Kissing _her_. The Doctor, the Oncoming Storm, had his lips pressed against hers. She never imagined this would actually happen for them. Well, she had imagined . . . daydreamed, fantasized, but she never thought it would come true. Besides, the reality of the kiss was way better than what she had dreamed of.

Hold on, she wasn't kissing back.

Why wasn't she kissing back? Her body was stiff and frozen with shock - she couldn't even move her arms much less move her lips.

Before she could even snap herself out of it and reciprocate the kiss, the Doctor broke it, much to her disappointment, and his long arms clutched her. Her head fit on the crook of his neck and, finally she was able to bring her arms up to wrap around him.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing her forehead. "And I'm sorry, Rose, I'm so sorry for not telling you sooner."

"What's going to happen to us?" Rose choked on her question, her eyes already brimming with tears, both from what she had discovered and his confession. It seemed unreal, everything seemed unreal.

"I'm not going to let that happen to us," he reassured in a firm tone, tightening his arms around her.

"But what about reapers?" she rebutted. "Or the fabrics of reality tearing, or-"

"Time can be rewritten," he answered, his eyes burning with determination. "When we get back to our universe, I'll make sure that Canary Wharf, Doomsday, those Daleks, and Cybermen will never happen."

He pulled away to wipe the tears that were falling down her face, his thumb caressing her cheek.

"A whole new timeline," his voice softened to a gentle caress while looking deeply into her eyes. "With you still with me. The Doctor and Rose: the stuff of legends – just as it should be."

She looked at him for a few seconds as her mind buzzed with disbelief and awe at his words. Then, it was her turn to initiate the kiss. Her lips hugged his and he kissed her back. It shared all the hidden feelings they had for each other.

He spent so long trying to deceive himself, telling himself that he could have never fallen in love with her - a human nonetheless. He had this argument raging in his thoughts ever since he had a daft old face, brown short-cropped hair, and blue eyes. She would wither and die while he would have to move on. Alone. It was the curse of the Time Lords. He tried fighting those feelings that kept snapping back at him whenever he saw her smile. Whenever he heard her melodious laugh. Whenever- the internal conflict was all in vain. Trying not to fall in love with Rose was like trying to breathe underwater. Impossible.

Ever since day one, she has loved this man. Countless times she tried to convince herself that they were just mates. They could never break the boundaries set between them. The Doctor didn't fancy her that way. He was an alien, a Time Lord, mind, and she was human. Even though sometimes she would catch him looking at her like . . . maybe, just maybe- But it didn't mean anything, she would persuade herself. He kept his emotions firmly barred behind a thick stone dam, while she did her best to do the same.

The dam had shattered and the wave of emotions flooded through.

Lips moved together in synchrony. Arms steadily held one another. Two heartbeats, instead of what could have been three, beat rapidly in a thunderous rhythm.

This moment was always destined to happen, waiting for them ever since the word "run" was uttered in that shabby basement in Henrick's. A broken man who had found an ordinary teenage girl and they made each other better. She taught him to hope; he taught her a better way to live. They danced through the stars, while saving and changing lives in the process.

And it all started at _run_.

It felt like a whole decade had passed between them, tucked away in a couple of minutes, before they finally broke the kiss. Their eyes gave away the love and affection they had for each other. Rose thought she heard the Doctor mutter "Still got it," under his breath.

The Doctor squinted his eyes as he tried to shake off his dazed look. He saw that Rose asked him a question, but his ears felt like they were filled with mud as he could still hear his blood rushing and his heart pounding.

"Wha-what?"

Rose giggled. _So this is his post-snog face_ , she thought. "I said we really need to get out of this universe. One more day of pretending I'm this Billie Piper girl is gonna drive me mad."

"Same here," he said grinning. "Talking in a Scottish accent for a day is one thing; don't think I can stand another. I should be a Scotsman in my next regeneration, would make things a lot easier."

"Rude and not ginger _or_ Scottish." She smirked at him.

"I'll be wearing bowties after this face." He adjusted his tie as if to assure himself it hadn't changed into a bowtie. His nose wrinkled in disapproval at the thought.

"I told you, they're cool. Besides," she tucked a loose hair behind her ear. "I'd love you with any face you have."

"Yeah?" He beamed at her.

"Yes."

"Well," he sniffed. "Should we get back on set now?"

Rose huffed in annoyance.

"And, easy on delivering your lines. You're the Moment, not a Cyberman."

"It's not like I can help it. Don't know if you can tell, but I can't act."

"Oh, I can tell," he mumbled.

"What was that?" She glared at him.

"Nothing," he replied, his expression all innocence.

She sighed. "Yeah, I guess they're waiting for us now…what's that word you use? You know, the French one?"

" _Allons-y?_ "

"Yeah," She smiled up at him and took his hand. " _Allons-y!_ "

* * *

By the time the sun had set, Nick called it a wrap for the day – giving up trying to handle the two actors who were being quite frustrating to work with. He didn't know what was wrong with them. One of his assistants suggested it might be drugs, another suggested marital problems. Who knows? Actors these days were becoming more and more difficult to handle.

He held his phone in his hand and dialed the familiar numbers on the screen. He needed help and he knew the one person who could deal with this problem.

"Hello, Steven? Yeah it's me Nick. I'm having a little trouble with Billie and David on set. Do you think you can come in tomorrow?"

* * *

The Doctor wore his glasses as he concentrated on his painstaking task. Weelll, he wouldn't really say it was his glasses, his _brainy specs_ rather. They were Tennant's, but he would make do with what he had in the meantime. These thin-rimmed _impostors_ would never compare to his brainy specs. Sad substitute, indeed.

His long, thin fingers were actively engaged in screwing or snapping the metallic pieces together. The metal clinked and squeaked as he did so. He worked arduously on the gadget in his hands because it was crucial – the only vital object for them to go back home lay in his responsibility to make.

Rose lay on the couch behind him, knees bent so her legs dangled in the air. She too was focused on something – surfing the web about _Doctor Who_ on the iPad _._ It was safe now; the Doctor told her that he was going to fix everything, therefore whatever the episodes of the show foretold would no longer dictate their future. If they were able to stop the Battle of Canary Wharf from happening, that timeline would cease to exist.

At least, it was what they were both hoping for.

The heater made a relaxing mechanical hum as they quietly worked. It reminded them of the TARDIS. They were both beginning to miss their beloved ship, the blue box that was bigger on the inside. Their home.

"Doo wee oooo…" Rose started singing in hushed tones, interrupting the reticent atmosphere. The Doctor smirked at the familiar melody. "Weee ooo ooooo. Da da dum, da da, da dum."

_What the heck_ , the Doctor thought as he joined her. "Dun dun dun dun. Dun dun dun dun. Dun dun dun dun. Dadadada dun dun dun dun. Dun dun dun dun. Dun dun dun dun."

She laughed when he joined in, but she still continued. "Doo wee ooo…"

By the end they were both bursting out with giggles and laughter. They looked like fools, laughing as hysterically and maniacally as they were, their eyes watery with tears. They didn't care. That's just how they were together. Childish fools.

"So you like the theme song?" the Doctor asked, still chuckling. His hands continued working.

"It's catchy," Rose shrugged and grinned at him.

"Well thank goodness it was. Can you imagine if it was a dull tune? Our show being _dull_?" He looked in abhorrence at the thought.

"It's not really my show Doctor, it's yours," Rose corrected him.

"What makes you say that?" he asked obliviously. His fingers pressed down a button on his device to hold it there.

She sighed. Was it always her job to point out the obvious? "The show is called _Doctor Who._ "

"Ohhh yes…that. Well to be fair you are a main character in Season One and Two of the reboot. Some could even argue that you were _the_ main character."

"Ok, whoa there. Spare the modesty, yeah?" Her tongue poked out between her teeth.

"It's true. Even if you weren't…I still think you are the star of my show," he said, his mouth forming a coy smirk.

"Were you trying to be smooth right there?"

"Yup," He grinned at her.

"Well it worked." She stood up to kiss his cheek and sat back on the couch, leaving the Doctor with a smile of content on his face.

Despite the dramatic shift in their relationship, it hadn't changed anything between them. They were still best friends – mates. The only thing that was different was that they were finally honest with each other. They were best friends who were in love.

Rose snorted a laugh. Oh, this was priceless.

The Doctor turned around and raised an eyebrow at her questioningly.

"Well Doctor," she said as she looked back at the screen of the iPad. "You know your wife Georgia."

"Yes, I know my _fake_ wife Georgia." His voice signaled for her to continue.

"Apparently," she bit down her lip to prevent another giggle from coming out, "she's the daughter of a man named Peter Davison."

"Great, which affects me because...?"

"Well, he certainly does affect you. As he _was_ you."

"What?" His eyes widened and his mouth fell ajar.

She laughed at his reaction. "Yup, played your fifth incarnation."

"Oh no." He shook his head. "That's just wrong. I married the daughter of my fifth incarnation?!"

If he was shocked by this news, she couldn't wait to tell him the rest. "Not only that," she trailed off to heighten the suspense. "Georgia played your daughter. You as in you as the Doctor, in Season Four."

"Wait...Season Four..."

_Give him a minute,_ Rose thought.

"I'm in Season Four! David Tennant, me, stayed till Season four" his forehead scrunched together in realization. "That means, oh." He stuck his tongue out in disgust. "That means she actually _is_ my daughter in our universe. Oh, blimey, I married my daughter."

"You committed incest," Rose said in sing-song. This was going to make great blackmail someday.

"No, no." He continuously shook his head to get the image out of his mind. "He's not me." He quickly turned back to his work to try and forget what he just heard.

"So that means you're your own son-in-law," Rose teased him. She was absolutely enjoying this.

"Rose, stop it."

"And father-in-law," she added, her mouth smirked jeeringly at him.

"Hah!" he cried in sudden triumph. He held his gizmo in the air. "I finished!"

"Really?" she asked excitedly, although she had a feeling he was just changing the subject.

"'Course, I told you I would be able to finish it soon. I even finished it sooner than I predicted."

"So can you tell when a wormhole will come by?"

"Mhmm, just got to-" he shook his device a little and pressed a big red button on the side of it. Its functions awoke, whirring and buzzing as it became animated. "My Timey-Wimey Detector. It goes ding when there's stuff." He announced, beaming proudly at his invention.

_Ding._

He frowned.

_Ding._

"What does that mean Doctor?"

"It means that a wormhole had just opened."

"What?!"

"It could be faulty," he proposed, but he thought it unlikely. His craftsmanship was hardly faulty. Most of the time.

Rose groaned. "How long ago did it appear?"

"About," he read the data on the detector, "three minutes ago. The coordinates actually point towards the studio."

She looked down, hope already vanishing from her eyes. "So does that mean that was our last chance to get back to our universe?"

"Oh Rose Tyler, don't give up so quickly." He continued reading the detector. "Because according to this there's one more bus trip back to our home universe."

She gazed up at him, anxious to hear his confirmation. "You sure?"

"Definitely," he assured her. "In fact, same place we arrived at. The studio… about tomorrow night."

She smiled widely. "Yes!" She ran to him and firmly hugged him. They were going home. They were going home!

He hugged her back, but something just didn't feel right. "The studio," he murmured, "Why is it always at the studio?"

* * *

At an unoccupied, dark studio a few miles away, a figure appeared out of nowhere.

The shaggy raven-haired man looked around in puzzlement. He wore a baseball cap on top of his bedraggled head of hair; his tan skin was clothed in a blue janitorial uniform. Where there would normally be an abundant amount of piercing on his face, there was only one hoop hanging from his left ear. He carried a normal, everyday mop in his hand, but his stance with it told otherwise. He held it out in front of him, in a ready-to-stab position.

Once he realized what he held wasn't a weapon, he dropped it in surprise. Scratching his head in confusion, he walked around this new, unknown world. His head felt empty. He couldn't hear his telepathic brethren anywhere.

Nonetheless, he knew the mission with which his tribe charged him. Search for the yellow woman and the tall man with the porcupine hair. Justice had to be served.

 


	12. Extra, Extra, Read All About It

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta read by ElvishPenguin12 on fanfiction.net

_Are Billie Piper and David Tennant Having an Affair? A Shocking Expose on the Former Doctor Who Costars_

_After recent photos have leaked online of Billie Piper exiting the room of David Tennant in the early hours of last Saturday morning, questions have been buzzing of their authenticty. Are the former costars, who have been reported to only be close friends, having an affair?_

_Piper, who is married to Laurence Fox and mother of his two children, was not rumored to have any problems in their relationship. They are presently settled in the country – a quaint cottage in Midhurst, West Sussex. Tennant, father of two and married to Georgia Moffet, was said to have the same regards in their marital status as well. In fact, Tennant has a third child on the way. Why they would ruin their family life is a question no one knows the answer to._

_Last Friday, the two celebrities were acting oddly after an accident on set. They are currently filming the 50th Anniversary of Doctor Who. Their behavior could arguably be explained because of injuries sustained during the incident; however, a crew member had found them in Tennant's dressing room afterwards._

_Later on, they were spotted sharing the same car, headed for the hotel they were both staying at. Even though they were offered two cars, they shared one instead and dismissed the other. The driver, who wishes to remain unnamed, agreed to make a comment._

_"I'm not sure what they were up to back there. Don't really wanna know. They were talking and I bet flirting the whole ride there. I've had a long experience with celebrities and I know if something was going on. There was definitely something going on with those two."_

_Once at the hotel, a source who works in room service tells us that they shared the same room and had their dinner was delivered via room service._

_Trying to follow up on the story, Tawnie Brown, our leading reporter, has tried to get a comment from Piper, but she has refused to answer any questions._

_In the past, many Doctor Who fans had speculated that there was a budding romance between Tennant and Piper in 2006. This suspicion, however, was extinguished as Piper had married Fox and Tennant had married Moffet. Now that new evidence has emerged to rekindle that theory, would it now be known as fact? Are David Tennant and Billie Piper indeed committing a scandalous affair?_

The man shut off his phone – not wanting to read anymore in fear of stressing himself to the point of a heart attack. The white, curly hair on the sides of his head seemed to spread over his dark hair. He sighed and placed his hands on his face in resigned fatigue.

"I told you, Steven, I told you," remarked the blonde man beside him.

Steven Moffat glanced up at the man. He loved the show, he really did. Ever since he was a little boy growing up in Paisley, Scotland, _Doctor Who_ was one of his favorite shows on the telly. He wanted this Fiftieth Anniversary show to go well. Many fans like him, young and old, were anticipating for this episode to be amazing and spectacular. It all depended on him. The head honcho. He was the show runner, the producer, and the head writer of _Doctor Who._ He led the whole production and if something didn't go right, the blame would all point to him. And he didn't like the reaction of disappointed fans. He remembered the numerous times he had killed Rory, the angry fan mail from teenage girls had increased significantly.

"Alright Nick, I'll talk to them."

He _needed_ for this episode to be fantastic and he wouldn't let any actors stand in the way of his goal.

* * *

"Tenpetals?" The Doctor's brow arched up at Rose. "We're called tenpetals?"

"Or Drose," Rose smirked while scrolling down the iPad screen.

They were walking out of the hotel lobby and towards their car to get to the studio. Both of them were anxious today. The Doctor was more hyper than usual as his babbling continued a hundred words per second. Rose found her hands a bit sweaty and had to wipe them on her pants every once and a while. If all went well, they would finally be able to return to their universe. It was times like this that Rose could only mentally cross her fingers and hope for the best.

The Doctor's gelled hair swayed back and forth as he shook his head. "But why?"

"I think it's cute. The fandom seems quite interested in us as a couple. There's websites, fan arts, _fan fiction_." She said the last word with emphasis.

"What's fan fiction?" He made a confused frown.

"Fans write their own stories about characters from, oh let's say books or shows. I read a few last night. Some of them are sweet…some on the other hand…" She trailed off.

"What?"

"Are a bit…smutty." Her cheeks blushed a pinkish hue.

The Doctor eyebrows immediately shot up and his eyes widened. "Rose Tyler, have you been reading smut?"

"No!" She quickly answered. "No, no…I just happened to come across it…"

The Doctor opened his mouth to make a smart remark, but the crowd of paparazzi interrupted their banter. The crowd seemed bigger than before and more ravenous. When they spotted the Doctor and Rose they suddenly turned into rabid wolves who caught the scent of fresh meat. They pushed and shoved to get closer to them while hotel security barred their way. Cameras flashed in a rapid succession.

"David!" They yelled.

"Billie!"

"Bloody hell, what's happened to them?" Rose muttered to the Doctor.

"What?" The Doctor shouted as he tried to be heard over the deafening mob.

A man with a light-blue dress shirt tucked in satin pants leaned closer to them and managed to get their attention.

"David, Billie, what can you say about your affair?"

Their heads both snapped to the man. "What?!"

"Your affair," he said as if it were an obvious statement. "What do your spouses think about it?"

Rose's complexion immediately paled while the Doctor's jaw dropped open. The man's questions were drowned out by the shouts of other reporters.

"When did you both start seeing each other?"

"Are you getting a divorce?"

"What's going to happen to the kids?"

The shoves became more violent and the Doctor could see that the barriers between them and the savage mass were breaking. Soon they would be surrounded.

"Run!" the Doctor yelled, taking Rose's hand and dashing to the car.

When they closed the door, flashing continued outside the windows. The car started moving and Rose watched as the lights became more distant.

"What are we going to do?" Rose turned around and leaned back in her seat.

"We don't have to _do_ anything," the Doctor replied coolly. "We're leaving today so this universe is not our problem. Everything will be as it was in this world, as it will be in ours. The universe will adjust itself and bang! It's like the things we did here would have never happened."

"Affair." She said the word with an unbelieving manner. "Never thought I'd be one of those celebrities. You always hear stuff like this on the telly or read it in magazines. It's juicy gossip like this my mum would be droolin' over."

"Oh I bet she would," the Doctor chuckled, imagining Jackie's eyes glazed over as she watched day time telly. "She'd probably slap me for this, though." He cringed at the thought.

"That would be so her!" She giggled, but sobered up as she asked her next question. "But really, what if this prevents us from getting to that wormhole?"

The Doctor sighed. "Rose, don't worry about it. Everything's going to turn out fine."

"Don't say that!" Rose squeaked and used her hand to cover his mouth.

"Why?" He gave her a puzzled expression while taking her hand off of his mouth.

"You'll jinx it and knowing you, you already have!"

"If my calculations are right-"

"Which they hardly are," Rose interrupted him.

"Oi, hush! If my calculations are right, we can get to the studio…do whatever they want us to do…then after everyone's gone, we can get to the wormhole right on time. So stop worrying," he took her hand and laced their fingers together, "and relax."

She drew out a long breath. "Fine." She laid her head on his shoulder and watched the gleaming city buildings pass by her window.

They were unaware of two furious spouses' a few hours away, constantly dialing at their phones.

 


	13. Fictional and Nonfictional

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta read by ElvishPenguin12

As soon as they stepped in the studio building, the Doctor and Rose could feel all eyes staring in their direction. Conversations dropped to murmured whispers as they walked. They could only assume the news had already spread as far.

_It's only natural_ , the Doctor thought. _Humans are always nosy beings._

"Blimey, it's like we killed someone," Rose whispered to the Doctor.

"It's not too far off in show business," he told her while his eyes concentrated straight ahead. "Such actions have been known to kill careers."

They strode through the hallway and went through the regular routine of hair, make-up, and wardrobe. The Doctor cringed every time foundation was smudged on his face. Rose tried not to laugh, but when the Doctor furrowed his eyebrows at her…the next thing she knew, she was cracking up, her sides were hurting and she was gasping for breath. Although the bubbling anxiety she felt inside her was still there, the Doctor was able to lighten her mood. Just by being the grump that he is.

They were on their way to the set when someone came barreling in front of them, pointing a mop at their faces. His eyes narrowed at them as if he was communicating, yet no words came out of his mouth. His dark hair was bedraggled and hung over his shoulders. He wore a dark blue janitorial uniform over his tan body.

"Well hello there…" the Doctor spoke with a cheery tone as he squinted. He read the name tag on the stranger's uniform. "Kevin."

The man's eyes narrowed even further and prodded the mop in front of them.

"Erm, Doctor…who is he?" Rose asked while giving the man a quizzical expression.

"I'm not su-" the Doctor wrinkled his brow. His examined the man, his brown eyes gave a thorough analyses. Suddenly, the Doctor started moving his arms and hands. His fingers balled into a fist, his palms clapped together, and his arms made a waving motion.

The man seemed to respond to this and his body became less tense. After a hesitant pause, he made similar motions to the Doctor. He used one hand while the other was preoccupied with yielding the mop towards them.

"Kevin here," the Doctor nodded to the shaggy-haired man, "is from our universe."

"What? How?" Rose's eyes widened as she turned back to look at "Kevin."

The Doctor snapped his fingers, pointed his thumb up, crisscrossed his arms, and tapped his nose. After getting a response from Kevin, the Doctor turned to Rose. "You know that wormhole that appeared last night?"

Rose nodded.

"Well, as one thing can come in the fissure, another can come out. I guessed he was from Desfillibous, as that's where the focal point of all the wormholes are. Hence, why we're speaking through a sort of sign language. We don't have telepathy in this world. I'm actually surprised that he knows it, it's an old language on his planet. It's almost as dead as Latin."

Kevin made an indignant snort and used his hand to pat his head, he crossed his fingers, and hit his fists together.

"Oh, I'm sorry, I didn't mean you were uneducated," the Doctor said. He looked at Rose. "His grandmother taught him."

"Wait, how did he understand what you said? You told that to me in English, yeah?" Rose watched Kevin with a vigilant gaze.

"Hmm. . ." The Doctor scratched the top of his head. "Must be when he was converted to this universe. He understands us, but he isn't used to communicating. The sign language is his forte, it's what he's comfortable using."

With a swift motion, Kevin jabbed the Doctor in the rib with the mop, knocking him on the ground.

"Doctor!" Rose gasped as she rushed to pull him up.

"Yeah, there's another thing I forgot to tell you." The Doctor grunted as he got off the ground. "He says he's here to bring us back as his prisoners. Apparently, we are still sentenced to death on his planet."

"Well, what's new?" Rose rolled her eyes.

Kevin continued to clap his hands, wave his arms, and do other motions. He had them backed against the wall while his mop was menacingly pointed at their faces (making the mop as threatening as a cleaning supply could be).

"There you two are!"

The Doctor and Rose jumped at the sound of the other voice and turned to face the newcomer. It was the same man that led them to hair and make-up the day before.

"Mr. Moffat wants you in his office," the man said. He looked at Kevin, his eyebrows furrowed as he glanced at him and the mop he held.

Luckily, the Doctor butt in before the man could question Kevin. "Er, Kevin here was just showing us the proper technique to use a mop." He grabbed the mop and wiped the floors with it before Kevin could react.

"Right…well Steven wants you guys. You should head on down there." He faced Kevin. "There's been an accident on set. Matt tripped and spilled his drink he was carrying. Typical," the man shook his head and smiled, "he's like a cat that tripped over a couch and made it look like he meant to do it."

Kevin just stared at the man, not comprehending a word of what he said.

"Well, what are you staring at me for? C'mon," the man firmly gripped Kevin's shoulder and steered him away from Rose and the Doctor and towards the next hallway.

Rose and the Doctor's eyes followed the alien native until he was out of their peripheral view.

"One problem averted, now on to the next." The Doctor looked around the empty corridor before held out his hand to Rose, wiggling his fingers at her. She giggled and took his hand.

"Who's Steven?" She swung their arms as they walked side-by-side down the corridor. Their steps unconsciously synced together. Left foot. Right foot. Left foot. Right foot.

"Not sure, but I guess we're about to find out."

They stopped at a door with _Steven Moffat_ labeled in large black letters.

There was something in that name that didn't sit well with Rose. Her stomach fluttered and her mouth felt dry. The name sounded familiar. She could have sworn she'd seen it somewhere, read it while she was researching for _Doctor Who_. It gave her a slight headache trying to match the name with a title. But, whoever he was it couldn't have been good as she had a bad feeling about this meeting. She had a bad feeling about _him._

* * *

The Doctor knocked on the door to the office and a muffled "come in" came from the inside.

As the Doctor turned the handle of the door, he let go of Rose's hand and tucked it inside his pants' pocket. She raised an eyebrow at him, but said nothing as they walked in the room.

"Ah, Billie, David, come and sit down." A man sat at his desk on the other side of the room. His Scottish origin was evident in his accent. He had on a collared shirt with a black sports jacket. The top of his head was a bush of curly dark hair with a patch of white on both sides.

The Doctor looked around the room. Posters were placed in a row on the walls. Some were _Doctor Who_ posters with Matt Smith. With the TARDIS in the background, he posed with Jenna and in others he was paired with a different team. A girl with determined eyes and bright ginger hair stood at one side and a man with dark-blonde hair and a fierce stare stood on his other side. The Doctor assumed they were his companions before he traveled with Clara. He could only wonder what happened to them.

In another poster, it wasn't _Doctor Who_ this time, but displayed two men – one with dark, curly hair and one that was shorter than the other and had blonde hair. The taller man wore a long, gray trench coat with a blue scarf wrapped around his neck. The other man wore a jacket over a plaid, button-down shirt. _Sherlock_ was written across the middle of the poster.

_They must have made a modern adaption to Sherlock Holmes in this universe_ , the Doctor thought.

Other than posters, there were also awards. On the man's desk there was a trophy with a golden mask and a plaque below it. On the plaque, "BAFTA Craft Award" was engraved in it as well as "Best Writer for _Doctor Who_ ". Rose noticed this and she was finally able to click the name with the person.

Steven Moffat was the head writer and showrunner of _Doctor Who._

"Now, let's talk about this whole dilemma, eh?" Steven folded his hands over his desk. "What's going on with you two?"

The Doctor spoke up first. "None of it's true. Bils and I were just hanging out like old times. That's all."

"Really?" Steven's eyebrows rose at them in an unbelieving manner. "Because Nick's been telling me that you lot have been…distracted lately."

"No we're fine, I guess that accident the other day gave us a bit of a shock," the Doctor told him.

"You sure?" Steven glanced at Rose who nodded back at him. He sighed. "Good, cause I didn't want to lose you two. We already don't have Eccleston on board…it would be a shame if you lot weren't in the special too."

"Eccleston?" Rose asked.

"Yeah," Steven looked down and shook his head, "could have had all the Doctors from the reboot if Chris came."

Rose looked at the Doctor, her eyes grew bigger. _Was he talking about the Doctor's ninth_ \- someone knocked on the door.

A man popped his head through the door. "We're ready for Billie and David on set, Steven."

Steven nodded his head and the man closed the door behind him.

"Well, guess you two are needed on set." Steven stood up from his seat, as did Rose and the Doctor.

"So…" Rose fumbled with her fingers. "You're the head writer of _Doctor Who_."

Steven's brow arched up at her. "Yes…?"

" _You're_ the head writer?" the Doctor's tone became hard and cold.

"Why do you both sound surprised?" Steven blinked at them.

"No reason." The Doctor gritted his teeth and walked to the door. Rose followed him.

Anger surged through him. This man was responsible for all that he suffered, or rather, what he would suffer in the future. He was furious at _all_ the writers. Who did they think they were? The way they had written his fate. Every single episode he was alone or when he did find someone…they would be torn away from him. He supposed it might not be their fault. They all thought what they wrote was fictional – that it was all "make-believe".

They didn't know. The curly-haired man that was walking behind him didn't know. The fictional hero that they adored and wrote about was standing right in front of them. And he did exist.

* * *

Filming went on longer than they had expected. _Much_ longer. Rose could see the Doctor was getting fidgety. Every few minutes he would ask someone for the time and she knew each time he hated it. His time sense didn't work in this universe and it made him feel all the more human. The longer the shooting took place, the more anxious the Time Lord became. She tried calming him down, but the only thing she could do was place a hand on his shoulder. Anything else, like hugging him or even holding his hand, would cause suspicious glances from onlookers and more rumors.

Filming needed to be over before the wormhole appeared or else it would be more complicated. The last thing the Doctor and Rose needed was a whole entourage of people staring at the swirling, gaping hole that they were going to jump into.

_Humans_ , the Doctor thought, _always the ones to overcomplicate things_.

It was already nine o'clock. Outside the studio, the dark, prominent night sky cloaked the windows in a sheet of blackness.

"No, no, no!" The Doctor said as he paced the floors and checked the clock placed above the doorway. Rose was sitting down beside him on a director's chair with "Billie Piper" scrawled on the back. She bit her nails while she watched him walk back and forth.

They weren't needed on set at the moment because it was a scene that only Matt and Jenna were in. And that was good. It gave them time to think.

"They choose now to work late. They choose _now?_ Any minute that wormhole could appear and those _idiots_ would be in the middle of it – probably blocking our way." His hands went to his hair, pulling at his unruly brown strands.

"Doctor," Rose began.

"Bloody actors, rubbish script writers," he muttered.

"Doctor."

"Humans…thick, so THICK!"

"Doctor!" she shouted at him, causing him to jump.

"Blimey, Rose, no need to shout. Use your indoor voice, yeah?"

_Use your indoor voice_ , Rose scoffed. _I'll use my indoor voice to give you a piece of my mind._ "Doctor, stop worrying. We can work it out. Stuff of legends, remember?" She looked around to see if anyone was watching them before giving him a peck on the lips and gripping his hand in hers. "Just one more step till we get home. One more challenge." She rubbed his hand with her thumb, drawing circles around his knuckles.

He sighed and kissed her forehead. He dug into his suit pocket and took out the Timey-Wimey Detector. "Says here that the wormhole will come in twenty minutes."

"Well seems to me that we have enough time…far too much time, in fact." Rose stood up from her chair and let go of his hand, pretending to brush off dust from herself. "We could do it if it comes here in five minutes. Where is it supposed to be at?"

The Doctor looked at his device. "Same place we popped up from, same part of the studio."

"Okay," she pursed her lips as she thought, "while everyone else is gapin' at the hole, we'll just jump in before anyone can do anything about it. Simple, unexpected…then we'll be back to our universe."

"Good plan." The Doctor nodded in approval. "Except, you're forgetting something."

"And what's that?"

"Kevin, the native."

"Oh, right. We sort of forgot about him, didn't we? What do you think he's up to?"

The Doctor scratched the back of his neck. "Probably cleaning the floors or hunting us down…I like the first one better. But I've got a plan for him."

"You do?" Her eyebrows rose at his sentence. "The Doctor actually has a plan for once?"

The Doctor stuck his tongue out at Rose in a childish gesture. "Shut up. I do have a plan, sort of. We can somehow lure him to come with us when we jump in the wormhole. That way, everyone will be in their original places. Kevin will be back at Desfillibous and we'll be back travelling in good ol' Time and Relative Dimension in Space."

"Look at you," she poked his arm, "making plans."

"Oh, hush." They headed towards the set.

However, behind them, in the shadows, stood a man. He was hidden by props that were dangled and stacked together in wait to be used. His eyes were as wide as the shape his mouth was making. He massaged his temples with the tips of his fingers. He watched the couple walk away, took in a deep breath, and stepped out of the shadows. His dark, curly hair reflected off the light. He knew they were acting suspicious he just needed to find out why. Now, he got his answer.

"They've gone mental," Steven whispered while giving his head an incredulous shake.

* * *

They were placed back on set and were acting out a scene. Ten minutes now. It wouldn't be long before chaos shattered the calm ambience. The Doctor tried not to look at Rose as each second ticked past.

"She didn't show me any old future; she showed me exactly the future I needed to see," John Hurt spoke his line.

Rose's palms started to sweat again. She fumbled with her hands and tried counting the number of holes in her tights. She tried distracting herself so she wouldn't get too anxious. She kept looking around in case the wormhole came earlier than they expected. One time, she caught the Doctor's stare and they quickly looked away from each other. She looked at the clock hung across the room.

Eight minutes.

"Eh, who did?" Matt Smith asked John.

"Oh Bad Wolf girl, I could kiss you!"

Rose and the Doctor snapped their heads in John's direction. _Bad Wolf._ Rose schooled her expression immediately, as it was her turn to deliver her lines. Sure, they studied their lines, and by studied they meant skimmed. But, they had barely paid attention to the context which proved to be a fault at the moment.

"Yeah, that's going to happen." Her cheeks blushed red as she realized the meaning of her lines.

The Doctor had to school his expression as well, trying to chase away the blush from his cheeks. "Sorry, did you just say Bad Wolf?"

"So what are we doing? What's the plan?" Jenna said.

A blonde-haired woman suddenly was marching on set, her eyes ablaze with anger. "David McDonald!" Georgia shouted at the Doctor, whose face paled at her appearance. "Can you explain to me what the hell this 'affair' is about?"

A gust of wind blew onto set.

"Whoever has that bleedin' fan on shut it off!" Nick called out, watching in dread at the hormonal woman who had barged onto his set.

Another gust of wind blew stronger than the previous one. The air contorted around them, forming into a swirl of golden colors. Rose jumped off the box she was sitting on.

"Doctor! You said it would take twenty minutes!" she yelled over the winds.

"Weeell," he pinched the bridge of his nose, "it was an approximation."

Just as Rose predicted, the crew and cast stood frozen, staring up at the hole, even the furious pregnant woman. The winds blew loose paper in the air were sucked inside the portal.

The Doctor walked over to Rose and took her hand. "You ready?"

She nodded, but as the Doctor tugged them towards the wormhole she halted. "Wait, what about Kevin?"

"I saw him earlier," the Doctor grinned. "He should be here in three, two…"

"Arghhhhh!" The burly native charged at them with his mop in hand.

"And there he is!" the Doctor dragged Rose closer to the wormhole. "Time for our exit and grand finale!"

No one noticed as the Doctor and Rose inched closer or the strange janitor that was running towards them. Mostly everyone was still mesmerized by the wormhole, hypnotized by its ever-changing colors and impossibility. Mostly everyone. One man _did_ notice.

"Oi, where are you going?" Steven shouted at them. "That-that tornado thing is dangerous!"

The Doctor turned around and stared Steven dead in the eyes. His look reflected something powerful and ancient. His brown eyes clouded with thunderous rage. Steven was startled by this and took a step back.

"Forgive me for the mix up in the introduction, Mr. Moffat," the Doctor's tone was frighteningly calm. His accent was no longer Scottish, but Estuary English. "I'm the Doctor and this is Rose Tyler."

"No," he shook his head with disbelief, "N-no you can't be. You two, you're just actors. You only _portray_ them, you hear? It's not real! The Doctor is a fictional character."

"Yeah, mate? Well you'll be surprised to know that the Doctor is in fact very real." The Doctor and Rose were right beside the wormhole now. All eyes turned to them. "And he is me."

Kevin caught up to them, his mop pointed at the pair as he slowly approached.

And just like they entered the universe, they left it in the same manner. They jumped.

 


	14. The Universe's Cruel Trick

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta read by ElvishPenguin12

The spiky grass prickled their faces. Above them, birds of various size and colors glided through the bright, blue sky. Animals hooted and squawked amongst the thick, towering trees. They could smell the scent of moist dirt and the strong fragrance of flowers. Although it seemed like they were on Earth, a jungle in South America, the colors appeared more vibrant. The green looked too green, the pink looked too pink, and the red looked too red. If observing the planet more closely, it would be found to be more of an eyesore than a beauty.

Something sharp prodded the Doctor's side.

He groaned and opened his eyes. "Rose?" His head was throbbing. He was lying on his back in a grassy clearing looking up at the sky above. He held up his arms in front of him. They were covered by the sleeves of his brown pinstriped suit.

He sighed in relief as he heard a similar groan next to him. "Doctor? Did we make it? Are we back?" Rose wore a pink hoodie with faded jeans and trainers. Her shoulder-length blonde hair was splayed out on the grass and looked like a golden crown around her head. She looked the same as she was before they jumped in the wormhole.

_Same beautiful Rose_ , the Doctor thought.

Before he had the chance to look around, he felt it. In his chest thumped the rhythm of two heartbeats. The cadence sent his spirits soaring.

"Oh yes!" He cried.

Another prod pricked his side. He stood up and turned around to face a stern-looking Desi with a sharp wooden spear pointed at him. He wore a ragged loincloth around his waist. The cloth used resembled the skin of a leopard, if a leopard had bright red fur. His dirt-powdered face was decorated with tattoos and piercings. A long antenna stuck out of his black, grimy hair.

"Ah, that's right…" He went over to Rose who was sitting up and rubbing her head. He took her arm and helped her up on her feet. "Rose, get up. We have company." He turned to the native. "Hello, Kevin."

_Pointy-haired man and yellow woman,_ the man spoke through the Doctor's mind. _You are under arrest for trespassing on sacred ground. You will be taken to our dungeons to await execution._

"Nice to hear a voice from the famous Desi we all know and love. Well, at least I can," the Doctor said as he gave a quick glance at Rose. _However, the "yellow woman" and I both need to get somewhere. Places to go, things to see. I don't think we'll be able to book execution on our schedule. Maybe next time._

_You WILL come with me._ Kevin furrowed his greasy brow and continued to prod his spear in the air in front of them.

"I think it's time to go." The Doctor grabbed Rose's hand. They both turned their backs on Kevin and willed their wobbly legs to run.

They were at the edge of the clearing, where the grass field met the forest of tropical trees. Rose could see the familiar blue outline of their bigger-on-the-inside box. The ship stood waiting for them in the grass, meters within their reach.

A screeching wave made the Doctor momentarily halt as the sound pierced his mind. It did nothing to soothe the throbbing that squeezed his skull.

"Doctor, what's wrong? Are you alright?" Rose still had one hand in his and used the other to grip his arm and support him.

He nodded. "Kevin alerted the rest of his tribe. It was one hell of a loud telepathic signal." He rubbed his temples.

Behind them they heard trees rustling. The fluttering and caws of birds echoed in the air as they flew away from where they were perched. They scattered in the sky, feathers fell in their frenzy.

"That's not a good sign…" Rose said as she turned around and watched the birds fly away.

"No, it's not." The Doctor scrutinized the forest.

The first thing they saw was spears. Dozens of them. Then came the dark, disheveled hair, tan bodies, antennas, and savage appearances. There were about thirty Desi. Their bare, filthy feet crushed the leaves on the ground. Kevin walked over to his tribe, speaking to them through telepathy.

_Bugger._ The Doctor held Rose's hand tighter and urged his feet to move forward. "I think it's time to go." They started picking up their pace. "Let's go, Rose Tyler. _Allons-y_."

They ran across the field, towards the blue box. The hoard of natives chased after them. Sweat beaded across the Doctor's brow. He was thankful for his respiratory bypass or else he would have been as out of breath as Rose.

"Almost there, almost there, almost there," The Doctor repeated with encouragement in his tone.

Something slashed the air beside his ear. A spear pierced the ground in front of them, followed by several more.

"Bloody hell, they must love their gods to despise us this much," Rose panted. They ran faster.

They reached the ship. The Doctor took his key from his pocket, unlocked the door, and flung it open. He pushed Rose inside and shut the door behind them. He didn't take a moment to bask in his ship's green glow or its amicable hum that greeted them. Although he missed her, his mind was more focused on leaving the devil planet and never looking back. He dashed to the console and flipped a few levers. The room swayed as the TARDIS entered the vortex.

Once he was sure they were gone from the planet, he relaxed his tense shoulders. He looked over to see Rose sitting on the console room seats, trying to catch her breath. He took a few sluggish steps forward before slumping on the seat next to Rose.

"Welcome home," he grinned at her. She flashed him a similar smile.

"Welcome home."

* * *

After taking a few moments to just sit down and listen to the convivial humming of the TARDIS, the Doctor jumped up on his feet and headed towards the console. He pressed a random array of buttons and pulled some levers.

"So what's our next destination? Past? Future? Somewhere in between?" He turned to her expectantly.

She gave him an incredulous look. "Seriously? After all that, you're still up for a trip?"

"Rooose, c'mon. I need to break her in. She hasn't moved in…" he checked the monitor and raised his eyebrows, "a few hours. We've only been gone for a few hours."

"That's…good, right?" Rose stood up from her seat and went over to stand next to him. She leaned her hip on the console. "That way we'll have more time to stop," she swallowed, "Doomsday."

"Doomsday," the Doctor murmured, his fist clenched and his lips folded into a thin line. His hand was unmoving on a lever and he stood silent, looking at her. She could only wonder what he was thinking about. She loved this man, she truly did. But, there were times when he still remained a mystery for her. She'd only spent two years with him while the nine hundred years were like a puzzle she tried to piece together.

Without warning, the Doctor's eyes widened and turned away from hers. The color drained from his face and Rose didn't have to be close to him to know that his two hearts were beating erratically in his chest. "No that-it can't," he whispered. "It can't be."

"Doctor?" She looked at him through a worried expression. She gained a headache trying to read his inner thoughts.

The Doctor closed his eyes. It helped him concentrate on the task at hand, or rather, it helped him _see_ well. Because his quick glance at the timelines couldn't possibly be right. It just couldn't. He used his innate abilities and looked through the events woven into the universe. Held together by the fabrics of reality they entwined together like a, well, like a big ball of wibbly wobbly timey wimey stuff. He saw the timelines in flux as they bended and curved like an ocean's wave. The fixed points were in between. They always stayed straight, unmoving, and never changing. They were the timelines that were forbidden for any Time Lord to disrupt, therefore left untouched.

That was where Doomsday lay. A stiff line that could neither be altered nor erased. One touch would leave reality to unravel and the universe in shreds. The sight seemed to glare at the Doctor, challenging him to defy it, challenging him to expunge it altogether. It only did the opposite.

It broke him.

All his hopes and dreams for the future dissipated right before the sight of the timeline. The universe, _both_ universes, had taunted him. They made him believe that he had a chance to set things right when really he had no chance at all. This was destined to happen. It was always meant to happen. He guessed…he and Rose were never meant to be.

"Doctor?" Rose called out to him, bringing him out of his thoughts. He opened his eyes and faced her. The human girl that stole his hearts, but he could never be able to keep.

He forced his mouth to curve into a weak smile. "Rose Tyler."

"What's wrong?" Her eyes analyzed his facial expression and could find only one emotion written on his face. Sorrow.

His dark, chocolate brown eyes stared at her as if memorizing every single detail of her face. Rose was taken aback as she saw his eyes begin to water. She had _never_ seen the Doctor cry, no matter the situation.

All at once, she felt the Doctor's hands gripping her arms and his eyes were panicked and desperate. "Rose, promise me." He swallowed hard before continuing. "And I mean, _promise_ me…whatever happens, don't forget that I love you. Because I do, no matter how stupid I was before not to admit it, _I love you_. Please, please remember that. When you're on that beach and looking at the both of us…always know that I will always love you."

She looked at the Doctor in alarm, her brow furrowed together and her mouth gaped at his frantic words. "Doctor," she said more urgently. Her hands came up to stroke his cheeks. "Tell me what's wrong. Why are you acting like this?"

He slowly withdrew his hands from her arms and took a step back. He tore his eyes away from hers and stared at the metal grating of the floor.

"Remember what I told you," to Rose, his voice sounded hoarse and broken, "about fixed points in time?"

Rose remembered. It was when they went back to see her father, and where she so brilliantly caused Reapers to appear because she tried to save him. They came back to the TARDIS with her eyes red from tears and her mind distraught from the events of that day. However, she had one question that had been bothering her since she watched her father die in her arms. Why was her father's death so important? The Doctor answered her by saying it was the death of an ordinary man…one of the largest fixed points in time.

A fixed point was an event in time that could not be altered or else, placed in the Doctor's words…would cause a nasty, bad thing to happen. In this case, the Reapers were the nasty, bad thing. Changing the timeline so her father would live created a colossal effect in the space time continuum. One man would be walking around the streets of London when he should not have been in the first place. One man would be first in line paying for his groceries when it really should have been the guy behind him. People would have never met, babies would have never been born, and the entire universe would be in shambles as a result of the strings unraveling around it. That was why there were Reapers. They were antibodies of the universe trying to prevent a disease from infecting and becoming fatal.

She nodded. She remembered all too well her lesson with fixed points in time.

"I looked through the timelines, it's a little trick Time Lords have built into the software of our minds. And I saw Doomsday. And Doomsday…well Doomsday…" He breathed out a tired sigh. His eyes that were usually full of life were watery and resigned. It was almost as if he'd given up. Yet, that couldn't be, Rose thought. The Doctor never gave up, whatever the cause. That's when realization struck her like a tidal wave.

"No, it can't be," Rose choked, repeating the Doctor's previous words. "It's a fixed point, isn't it? Doomsday is a fixed point."

The Doctor's head hung low and his hands tucked into his pockets. Silence answered her question.

"We-we can do something, yeah? There _has_ to be something." She desperately searched the Doctor's expression for an answer, but his face was pointed to the ground. Instead, she looked at the Doctor's wild, thick brown hair. His tall figure slumped down in defeat. "There just has to be," she whispered.

* * *

A period of silence hung in the air. Rose shivered at the distance that was spaced between them. She longed to rush into his arms and tell him that everything was going to be alright. However, even she needed time to soak in the fact. They _both_ needed time to understand the horrible truth that stung like a physical blow. The Doctor was the first to break the silence.

"I have to erase our memories."

She looked up at him, her eyes were wide. "What?"

"We have to make this timeline continue and we can't to do that with foreknowledge of the future."

Tears swelled in her eyes. She shook her head. "No, there has to be some way to stop this. Please, Doctor, we can't give up now." She stepped closer to him. "We _can't_."

The Doctor wiped a hand over his face and breathed out. He stepped towards Rose. "You know, I really thought we had a chance to make it all better. I thought we could spend more years together, travelling. I would have shown you so much more. There are millions of galaxies out there, but we only have a few months left now." He took another step. "Hopefully, that Metacrisis of mine can take you there. And hopefully," he took another step towards Rose so now that there was only a foot of space between them, "you'll be happy. Because that's all I ever wanted for you…to be happy." A tear streamed down his face. His ageless appearance seemed older; there were more creases in the corners of his eyes.

"I wanted to spend the rest of my life with you." She sniffed. Tears ran down her face. "I don't want you to be alone. Please, you-we don't have to do this."

"You know that we do." With another step, he closed the space between them. They could feel each other's breaths on their faces. "I'm sorry, Rose, I'm so so sorry."

"Please, Doctor. Please," she begged, she held both of his hands. "I don't want to leave you. I don't want you to be alone."

Another tear from the Doctor's eye fell onto the metal grating. He kissed her forehead. "I won't be, remember? I've got other companions later on. Martha, Donna, Clara."

_Except they won't be you_ , he thought.

He let go of her hands and gradually lifted his. They couldn't waste any more time. Rose saw what he was doing and took a step back.

"Please," she sobbed. "I don't want to go. Don't take me back. I don't want to go back to what we were before. Please."

Rose's pleas ripped at his hearts. It reminded him of the scene he had watched with Donna. She had begged him not to make her forget. She didn't want to go back to her old life. She didn't want to forget their amazing adventures. But Rose was different, wasn't she? She would continue travelling with him until Doomsday. She would still have adventures with Torchwood in the other universe and probably with the Metacrisis….just not with him.

"I love you, just remember that, eh? I love you." He stepped towards her. His fingers wavered on her temples.

"I-I love you too." Her voice cracked. "I just…wish we had more time."

"I know," he said softly, "I know."

His hands were millimeters away from her head. He hesitated while Rose held her breath. _There is no way to stop this_ , he prompted himself. _You can't do anything._

And, just before his fingers touched the skin of her temples, they felt another consciousness push into theirs. Rose gasped and the Doctor, without delay, put up shields in his mind. Then, images started playing out in their mind. They rolled together like a film.

Rose and the Doctor gaped at each other. They felt the harsh, cold air of winter. They could see a blur of colorful lights hung about the housing complex. They could feel his emotions and thoughts run through them like they were experiencing it all themselves. He was in pain and he was alone. So very alone.

The scene playing out revealed the Doctor's future.

 


	15. His Reward

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There will be one more chapter after this and an epilogue!
> 
> Beta read by ElvishPenguin12

While the scene began to flicker in his mind, colors cascading together like a portrait being painted, the Doctor became desperate to keep calm. He fought through the pictures that were projected, grasping onto the reality in front of him. He evaluated the situation. Whatever was happening didn't seem to want to harm them.

Rose's expression was peaceful, her open eyes were distant and clouded like she was only daydreaming. This consciousness could have ravaged through Rose's unprotected mind and killed her in an instant – yet it didn't. He felt a warm touch caress his mind as if to give reassurance that it was to be trusted. He was never a man to give his complete trust, especially towards something unknown and a possible threat.

However, this presence seemed familiar. It was like he had felt it once before. It was for this reason that he allowed himself to be engulfed in the images before him, permitting them to play out in his mind. Reality vanished from his awareness and he was swept into a setting that he had once seen on screen.

* * *

_Maybe it's time you went home._

Home? How could he go home when he was standing at the heart of that very place?

The Doctor trudged through the snow, breathing in through his nose and exhaling out from his mouth. The freezing, bitter air pricked against his face. The brick buildings of the Powell Estate encircled him. He was alone. Everyone else was either sleeping or enjoying the rest of their New Year's Eve party. The last person outside had already walked inside…and his eyes followed her as she left him.

The pain engulfed his body like the flames of a wildfire, spreading and burning him up in the inside. It was coming, he could feel the golden energy of regeneration coursing through his veins and was ready to burst. He fought against it – never go down without a fight, him. The haunting melody of the Ood's song harmonized in his ears and was lulling him to sleep. It was time to rest and his song was coming to an end.

_2005, January 1_ _st_ _._

_2005? Tell you what. I bet you're going to have a really great year._

And it was. He was a broken, battered shell of a man until he met her. She was his bright north star guiding him out of the dark, cold night. Each adventure he fell even further for her, as he took her hand and showed her the vast spaces of the universe. When he was with her he was able to smile again, laugh again, even _dance_ again. With his hand in hers, he didn't feel alone. That's when the Fate smirked and snuffed out the single light that gave him warmth. Canary Wharf came, with the Daleks, the Cyberman, and the Void. She came back to him, but only to slip through his fingers a few hours after. She was gone and he was out in the cold again.

If it wasn't for Martha, he wouldn't have made it through the first year without her. She was brilliant. The student doctor who did not need him to achieve greatness. She could do that all on her own. He regretted making her feel secondary when she deserved much more. He was glad she found Mickey. He knew by the way he treated Rose that he would be a loyal and ever-loving husband to her. They were a good match.

After Martha, Donna kept him in check. He smiled every time he thought of her insults. His rudeness didn't stand a chance to her sass. He was happy she found someone too – a man who could keep up with his wife's quick remarks. She didn't need him because she didn't remember him.

They all found someone in the end. They all forgot about him. This is where he always ended up – alone. "The Lonely God," the Face of Boe had called him.

Snow fell and swirled around him. He reminisced the last time there was "snow" in the Powell Estates and the girl who held his hand and showed him where she wanted to go. It was the beginnings of their travels in his new body. It seemed fitting that he ended in scenery so familiar to where he started.

Once he reached the TARDIS, he pulled out his key from his pocket and unlocked the blue door. He swung it open and leaned against the door after he shut it.

_Yeah?_ She gave him one of her smiles that he loved. He loved when her pink lips curled to show the white gleams of her teeth. His hearts always pounded a little faster when she grinned at him. _Seeya._

He threw his coat on the coral strut for the very last time. _You'll see me again_ , _Rose,_ he thought. _Just not like this_.

He was burning. He couldn't hold back the energy for much longer. He rounded the console and pulled levers, bringing his ship outside the atmosphere of Earth.

He never told her. That was one of his biggest regrets. This body was made out of his love for her. His ninth self had sacrificed himself in order to save her. His next body, in return, became younger for her, taking on a similar accent as well. His feelings became especially stronger. But he never told her.

Oh, he could have done so much more. He stood on the metal grating of the TARDIS. His breaths were heavy. He had lost the fight he didn't want to loose. The energy took control and he could feel it raging through his body. It burned. His last thought was fear. He wasn't ready. He _liked_ this body. He _enjoyed_ being this him. It was in this life that he was more human, more understanding of the people he walked amongst. This was the body that she was last with and he knew she loved those brown eyes he held. It wasn't his time to die. Not now.

"I don't want to go." A golden light emitted from his body. He looked at his hands and saw the golden tendrils rise from it.

Every cell was changing in his body and his bones felt like lava. Pain coursed through him and he screamed out in agony. Blackness swarmed his vision and he was in the dark.

* * *

He didn't want to watch this anymore. He witnessed his own death, what more was there to see? The Doctor felt something physically squeezing his hand, reminding him of the reality outside this vision and of Rose, who stood in front of him. Her hand had a tight grip on his as if she was reassuring herself that he was still there with her. He squeezed back to comfort her as well as himself.

He then realized that the images were still playing out in their minds. Wasn't this over? Wasn't that how it ended for him? Confused, he looked at Rose with his eyebrows raised at her. It was hard to look at her, like looking through glasses with two different color lenses. His focus was split on both the images and the reality around him and it was giving him a headache. Rose appeared to be experiencing the same feeling as she concentrated once again on the scene, her gaze hazing out into the distance. He, too, allowed himself to be immersed on the pictures and he felt reality melt away.

This was a scene the script writers had not penned.

* * *

He was floating through nothingness. He didn't know the difference between the ground or the sky, if he was in air or in water. All he knew was the dark because it was all he saw.

_The Void_. That's where he assumed he was. It was how they described it in the Academy on Gallifrey. Simply nothingness.

He felt himself being pushed. A force he couldn't see was nudging him forward. He swam through the black, towards that direction. After moving forward for what seemed like hours he saw a light. It was like he was looking through a tunnel. The force dragged him through it, but once he reached the light, he plunged through darkness once more.

* * *

"Doctor? Sweetheart? Are you alright?" the melodious voice of someone he thought he would never hear again echoed in his ears.

He opened his eyes.

Her blonde hair was longer than he remembered and fell over her shoulders. She was dressed in a loose, black blouse dress that hung above her knees. A mix of gold and black make-up was shaded above her eyes, highlighting her hazel brown irises. She was giving him the same smile that he loved, her lips sparkled with light pink lip gloss.

"Rose?" he whispered in disbelief.

"Well, who else would it be?" She laughed. "C'mon. They're all waiting for you out there." She took his hand and he didn't realize how much he missed the feel of it in his. "You told me you were gonna be only a few minutes to check on the TARDIS. Now look at you, you're a mess! You just _had_ to do those repairs this instant, didn't you? They're about to do the count down!"

When he was finally able to take his eyes off Rose he looked around. He took a sharp intake of breath.

He was inside the TARDIS sitting on the captain seat. Grease and oil covered his hands, and by the feel of his face, it was covered in the same residue. His ship hummed around him. It had its same interior: the console had all its regular controls, the coral struts stretched from the ground to the floor, and a yellow-green glow bathed his face. The difference was the lighting was brighter, almost as if the TARDIS was happier and more cheerful. Christmas garlands were twirled around the coral struts and lights were spotted on them. In the corner of the room stood a Christmas tree, vacant of presents underneath.

He was about to question how this was all possible, but he was able to answer it himself. _Rose and I decorated the console room when she said it needed a touch of holiday spirit._

Afterwards, an onslaught of memories came flooding through his mind. It was like momentarily forgetting something and have it all suddenly piece together. Two sets of memories jangled in his brain and a large grin carved on his face.

He felt something smooth rubbing between his fingers, a piece of jewelry he was so adjusted to wearing he had forgotten to take it off when working on repairs. A golden ring gleamed on his left ring finger. He traced the engravings carved on the band. The engravings _he_ made. "Forever," was swirled together in Gallifreyan. And he didn't have to look to know that Rose wore the same promise on her right hand.

"Oh, Rose Tyler, this is brilliant! No it's more than brilliant it's _molto bene_!" He shouted in elation. He jumped up from his seat and wrapped his arms around her, picking her up in the air.

"Hey," she giggled, "what are you on about?"

"Two sets of memories." He laughed as he placed her down, but his arms still held her. "I've got two sets of memories."

"Alright, I still don't understand…" She gave him a quizzical expression.

"Rose, it's me, and I mean all of me." He reluctantly let her go to place his hand on his chest. He felt the rhythm of one heartbeat. "I'm both Time Lord me and Metacrisis me."

Rose's jaw dropped and her forehead scrunched. "What? How…what?"

"There's too many possibilities for the 'how' part," he said. "One could be genetic reversal mitosis, another could be dimensional telepathic transfer, the other…" He trailed off as he saw the look Rose gave him. Her brow was arched up at him and her eyes narrowed. It was a look that meant no nonsense.

"Doctor," she warned.

"Yeah…" He scratched the back of his neck. "I made those terms up, thought it would sound better. I don't actually know _how_. I just know what. I know that my consciousness, meaning my entire being of my tenth self, somehow travelled through the void into this dimension then merged into this body. We combined into one person. Thus, I have two sets of memories from the times we were apart. It happened right after I-" he held his tongue, yet he divulged enough information for Rose to hear. _Bloody gob_ , he thought.

"It happened right after you what, Doctor?"

"After I regenerated," he finished.

Rose covered her mouth with her hand and her eyes widened. "You regenerated?"

He tugged on his earlobe in a nervous manner. "I ran into some trouble and I ended up exposed to excess radiation from a Nuclear Bolt. I thought I was going to die," his tone became serious and a shadow came over his face. "I went to see the people I've met in the past few years, a kind of farewell tour. I saw Martha and Mickey…did you know they got married?"

"Really?" She smiled. "Good for them! I think they would make a great couple. Mickey and Martha Smith."

"I saw Sarah Jane's son, Luke," the Doctor continued. "I set up Jack on a date."

"Jack! How is he doing?" Rose asked.

"Oh, he's doing alright. Torchwood fell, but I think he'll go on to do better things." He paused hoping the next part would surprise her. "You know Jack is the Face of Boe, right?"

"Yup," she said casually, popping her 'p'. "Saw the Face of Boe one time when I was travelling universes through the dimension canon. He told me."

His mouth formed an 'o' shape and his eyebrows furrowed. "Oh, look at you, Miss Know-It-All."

She laughed at him. "Just 'cause you didn't impress me by my lack of knowledge, doesn't mean you have to be all cross about it."

"Moving on," he cleared his throat, "I saw the granddaughter of a human I, erm, befriended in my travels. I saw Wilf and Donna again. She got married, too." He smiled, but his mouth drooped as he realized who was at the end of his list. "Then, I saw…you."

She raised her eyebrows. "Me?"

"Who else would it be?" He repeated her previous words with a small smile. "Always save the best for last. It was a couple months before we met, New Year's Eve."

Rose's eyes were distant, lost in thought. Her hazel eyes stared at the TARDIS console. The Doctor thought she was taking in all that he was saying and he continued. "And I told you that I-"

"Bet you're going to have a really great year," they both said simultaneously.

"I remember," she whispered as she became aware of the events of that night. He gave her an astonished look. "You were the drunk man in the shadows." She chuckled lightly. "Y'know after you regenerated, I couldn't shake this feeling that you looked familiar. Guess now I know why." After a few seconds, Rose gasped. "Hold on, you went to see me, which meant you went to your personal timeline. You could've brought Reapers if I saw you regenerate or saw the TARDIS a moment too early. Why would you do that?"

He sighed and looked down at the metal grating, kicking his trainers on the floor. "I wanted to see you again. With these eyes, I wanted them to be the last person they saw."

She gazed up at him, cupping his cheek so his eyes met her deep, hazel pools. His face was centimeters away from hers. Her hand rested on the back of his neck and guided his head forward so his lips met hers. A part of him tensed as if this was their first time, another part knew exactly what to do. He could taste her lipgloss, sweet like strawberries. He caressed her lips with his own, tilting her head to deepen the kiss.

"I missed you," he confessed softly in her ear once he pulled away, giving her one last peck on the lips. "It's a bit strange, yeah? I've been here with you all this time, but at the same time I haven't. And it feels like I haven't seen you in years."

"You're here with me now," she said, her tongue stuck out between her teeth. "Better with two."

"Always." He beamed.

Her eyes widened. "Oh crap! The countdown! We're going to miss it!" She laced her fingers through his and yanked him by the arm towards the front door of the TARDIS.

_Ah, that's right_ , The Doctor thought. _Jackie was a little tipsy and kept trying to snog me, that's why I sneaked out of the party._

They exited out the TARDIS and into the spare room that was always ready for them when they visited. He looked at the outside of the blue box. He never realized that it was a darker shade from his original ship. It was still home though, with her by his side, anywhere was home.

A warm feeling came over him, causing him to smile. They walked down the steps of the mansion and towards the living room. Rose's heels clattered on the hardwood floors. It was a spacious room, larger than the flat Jackie had once owned. To the side of the wall, large windows shown the acres of open land that Pete owned - darkened by the night sky. A cobblestone fireplace crackled in the corner of the room, giving warmth and a soothing atmosphere. Jackie and Pete stood gathered by the flat-screen television watching as the numbers counted down from sixty. They had just made it. Tony was asleep on a wide leather couch with a fluffy blanket draped over him. The blonde-haired toddler was sucking his thumb, his 2010 glasses were crookedly hanging on his face.

After getting scolded from as still very buzzed Jackie Tyler, they too stood by the telly and awaited for the number one to flash on screen and the fireworks to shower the sky of London. He gazed around the room. Moments ago he was alone and he thought Death would take him away. Now, he was alive and with a family of his own. Jackie giggled as Pete whispered something in her ear. Tony muttered something about bananas in his sleep. Rose stood next to him and held his hand, her thumb caressed circles around his knuckles. His eyes wandered her face, taking in every detail and memorizing every dimple. It was in that second that he realized _this_ was his reward. Nevermore would he be alone and exist as a man of solitude. He would have her for the rest of his life, no matter the shorter life span. It was today that the universe was kind and had given him a miracle.

_10, 9, 8, 7, 6…_

She sensed him staring at her and looked up at him. She smiled the smile he loved. "Happy New Year." She moved her face closer to his, their foreheads were near to touching.

_5, 4, 3…_

"Happy New Year." He grinned back at her.

_2, 1!_

He broke the little space between them and bent his head down to meet her lips with his. He relished in the fact that he was here. He was actually _here_ with Rose Tyler. He cupped her cheek and deepened the kiss.

Jackie cheered as Pete popped open a champagne bottle.

A loud wail broke Rose and the Doctor from their kiss and they turned their heads to the baby monitor sitting on the counter.

"Oh look what you've done," Jackie chastised her husband. "You've woken up li'l Sarah."

"It's alright, Mum," Rose straightened her clothes and started to walk towards the doorway, "I've got her. She needs her bottle."

Jackie beat her to it and was already out the door. "Nonsense, stay right there, I have her!"

_Sarah!_ He thought, another smiled curved on his face. How could he have forgotten his own _daughter_. It'd been two months since she'd come into his life. It was an eventful year. He and Rose got married; a month afterwards they found Rose was pregnant; they were able to grow the TARDIS that his Time Lord self, or rather _he_ , gave them; and Sarah was born. They named her after Sarah Jane Smith. Jackie teased that he was very quick in adjusting to domestics, except he wouldn't have had it any other way. A proper house, with doors, carpets, and things, was better than he imagined.

Jackie came back a moment later with a bottle in one hand and a bundle of blankets in her arms. He could see tuft of dark ginger hair peak out from the blankets, matching the color of her grandfather's. It was hair that Rose joked he was jealous of. A little hand stuck out, reaching to pull at Jackie's hair. "Happy New Year, Sarah," Jackie cooed at the bundle.

"Can I hold her?" the Doctor asked Jackie, taking hesitant steps towards her.

She looked at him in surprise. "'Course you can, you daft man," Jackie said. "She's your daughter."

Jackie carefully placed the small infant in his arms and the Doctor let out a breath he didn't know he was holding. She was beautiful. She was like a tiny duplicate of Rose: her eyes matched her mother's wondrous stare, her button nose curved up in the same way, and the shape of her lips were identical. The only difference was the hair. The color was the same as Pete's, but the texture was different. It was like his – thick, unruly, and seemed to defy gravity.

"Hello, Sarah," he chuckled softly. "Nice to meet you and see you again."

Sarah gurgled and smiled as if she understood what he meant.

Rose walked over to him. He looked up at her and realized they even had identical smiles.

A miracle, he thought. He couldn't find any other word to phrase it because that's what all this was. It was his reward, his miracle.

 


	16. A Promise Between Hellos and Goodbyes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While we sleep, we miss a few things...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Beta read by Elvish Penguin 12

The images began to fade like the colors of a sun-bleached painting. The pair stood blinking at each other as they tried to recover from the onslaught of the vision. They found themselves still facing each other, their hands clasped together. They were still in the TARDIS console room and the ship hummed a welcoming tune. The Doctor was able to be the quickest to recuperate from the mental imagery and his eyes focused on Rose. He analyzed her face, checking again for any signs of pain she might have received from her own conscious being invaded by…he wasn't sure what it was. It was then that the memory of what they both learned hit him and the corners of his mouth began to twitch upward.

Rose had to blink a couple more times to bring herself back into reality. The Doctor's face was next to hers, looking down at her with an expression of concern. His countenance changed, the worry etched on his brow smoothened and his mouth drew into a wide grin. What is he grinning about? They were just…The memory shot through her mind and she bit her lip, confusion and distress running rampant through her thoughts.

"Why are you so happy?" Her voice cracked and a heavy lump sat at the back of her throat.

The Doctor's grin vanished and his eyebrows knit together. "What do you mean? Isn't this what you wanted?"

She gave him a bitter laugh. "'Course it's what I wanted...with you. Not," she swallowed hard, "not with some bloke that just looks like you, acts like you, and has your memories. That's what that mind image thing was, yeah? It was to tell me that he'll have all your memories, that you two will be somewhat of the same person. While the actual you is in another universe going through regeneration - alone. Well, I'm not going to let that happen, Doctor." She crossed her arms together. "Not going to do that to you."

Realization took hold of him and his frown dropped. "Oh," he smirked and rubbed the back of his neck, "is that what you thought it meant. Sorry to disappoint you, Ms. Tyler, but your interpretation is completely wrong."

"What?" She wrinkled her forehead.

"Telepathic projection," he tapped his head, "that's what it's called. Someone, or something, wanted to show us some very important information. Very good information."

"Why are you taking this so lightly?" Rose's voice rose higher, frustrated with the Time Lord's demeanor. "It's not good. You'll be alone. Again."

"No, I won't."

"What?"

"Rose," he shook his head, still smiling. This conversation sounded awfully familiar to when he regenerated. "What the projection showed you was that he will be me. That man you saw is me. My consciousness was dragged across the Void and united with my Metacrisis. We became one person, while my original body will become the next me-er Doctor...er..." He scratched his head. "Blimey, this is confusing."

"So...you're him."

"Yup."

"And he's you."

"Correctamundo!" He regretted saying the word the instant it came out of his mouth and grimaced in distaste.

She took a hesitant step closer to him. "That means...you'll be able to spend the rest of your life with me."

"Do you want me to spend the rest of my life with you?" He had his hands tucked in his pockets as he too stepped closer.

"Yeah," her tongue stuck out teasingly as she closed the gap between them with another step. "I would like that."

"Yeah?" The Doctor beamed at her, the corners of his eyes crinkled together.

"Yes." she smiled back at him.

Without hesitation, his arms came around her, swooping her up, and swinging her around in the air. She laughed and his laughter mingled with hers. They couldn't believe their luck. They would be able to spend the rest of their lives together. They could both grow old together, have a family together, and neither one of them would have to worry about different life spans.

"But, we'll still be separated...for four years." Rose said once he placed her down, her mind spinning with disbelief, doubt, and a sense of happiness.

He sighed and his head fell for a moment before he looked up at her. "I know, and I'm sorry. I don't want to go through the separation any more than you. But we need to. Doomsday has to happen in order for everything else to come in place. If we prevent it, that future we saw would cease to exist. Which means, we'll still have to erase our memories."

"I just don't want you to suffer during that time." Tears swelled beneath her glassy eyes. "You told me there would be a time where you would be travelling by yourself - before your regeneration."

His hand went up to cup her cheek and she leaned into his touch. "It would be worth it because, in the end, I would have you."

He bent his head down so his lips touched hers. He moved his lips against hers, embracing them with graceful glides and soft strokes. They both worked together to match each other's rhythm and tenderness. Rose, although breathless, was disheartened when she felt the warm contact leave her lips.

"I love you." His words were spoken with such vigor and truth that Rose could feel her heart beat a little faster. His chocolate brown eyes had an intense gaze on her.

"Quite right, too." She sniffed and smiled, giving him a playful wink. He pouted at her, not giving him the response that he wanted. The look on his face vanished as she grabbed his suit lapels and crashed his lips on hers. Surprised, it took the Doctor a couple of seconds before he reciprocated the kiss. They held each other, Rose's arms clung around his neck and the Doctor's arms were wrapped around her waist. They left little to no space between them.

Once they broke apart, the Doctor raised his tentative fingers over Rose's temples. They were ready now.

"I'll see you later, Rose Tyler." The Doctor grinned at her. His eyes shined with felicity.

"Not if I see you first, Doctor." She matched his mischievous smile; her tongue peeked out between her teeth.

They didn't say goodbye because a promise between them was yet to be made. They were going to see each other again. This wasn't the end. No, because the story never ends.

His fingers touched Rose's temples and they looked at each other one last time. Rose could feel her memories of the other universe begin to slip away and hide in the depths of her mind. Neither one of them had a sinking feeling of despair heavy at their hearts. Anticipation for the future was bright in their eyes.

This was just the beginning to forever.

The room was silent, except for the continuous humming of the TARDIS that brought its unearthly ambiance. Its inhabitants lie unconscious on the floor, letting out soft, peaceful breaths in their slumber. Their limbs splayed awkwardly on the floor, in a fallen position. Everything was still in the sentient ship.

A flash of light awakened the tranquil atmosphere. From the light stepped out two figures. One wore tattered clothes, her blonde hair twirled in wild curls. Another wore an overcoat pieced with a dark blue bowtie.

"Yowzah! Time travelling without a capsule, really don't recommend it…" The floppy-haired man said as he tried to steady himself, bending his neck to straighten the crick in it.

"My apologies, Time Lord, next time I'll place in safety brakes when manipulating time and space to get you here." The woman rolled her eyes.

"Y'know, even though you're not her, you do have her attitude." He gave her a small smile.

She shrugged. "Sometimes I take on the personality of the forms I have."

The man patted the round console in the center of the room. "Hey there, old girl."

The ship glowed a lighter green and hummed in recognition of its driver.

He turned his head to look at the sleeping pair lying on the floor. Although, his attention was more drawn to the woman whose hair color matched his travel companion. "Rose Tyler." The name rolled out of his lips with the same affection as he had done so many times before. He stepped closer to the couple and crouched down to meet their level. He brushed the disheveled strands of hair that scattered across her face.

Matt Smith was a peculiar name - he would have chosen John Smith. Still, the peculiar name does match the peculiar universe.

It wasn't a mistake that those two had landed in that universe, or of those wormholes appearing in Desfillibous. In fact, it was all planned and perfectly put together. His adventure with his tenth self reminded him of what he lost. And he thought he owed it to himself to give back what he lost. Rose Tyler.

The Moment had helped him. She was the one who had made the wormholes open. She was the consciousness that entered into their minds and showed them the future. She was the force that pushed his tenth self through the Void.

"Why do you want to help me-er him, both of us?" he asked her. She had appeared to him a few days after his adventure with his past selves and told him her plan.

"I once told you that I saw all of you, every single one of you. Jangling around in that head of yours. I also saw the pain. Each life had pain and loneliness, but there was one moment in all your lives that brought an epitome of happiness. Meeting Rose Tyler. You, Doctor, have sacrificed so much for so little. You've saved countless numbers of lives, time and time again. So I think that at least one of your lives deserves a happy ending, yeah?"

"I didn't know a destructive weapon had sympathy." Sarcasm was evident in his tone.

"You're forgetting something, Doctor. I may be used as a weapon, but I am also a sentient with a conscious."

The bowtie Doctor combed his fingers through Rose's hair, smoothing down stray golden strands.

"You're a funny one, Rose Tyler. You're always coming back into my life at the moments I need you the most. No wonder she took your form." He smiled. "My Bad Wolf. You didn't even know it was me in that other world. I guess I can be a pretty convincing actor after all." He pursed his lips and paused before he continued. "I will always love you, but that one there," he looked at the sleeping figure of his former self, "loves you the most out of all of us. And I know, because I was him."

He placed his fingers on her temples. "This is to trigger your memories, when the time is right."

He stood up and walked over to his past self and did the same. Once he was done, he went over to Rose and scooped her up into his arms. She murmured in her sleep, but did not waken. He made his way through the TARDIS corridors, taking a route he had walked through so many times before. A long time ago.

When he reached his destination he stopped for just a minute to look at the carvings on the door. "Arkytior," was engraved in the wood in the form of Circular Gallifreyan. It translated to Rose in High Gallifreyan. It'd been a while since he had visited the room. He took in a deep breath and snapped his fingers (a bit difficult while juggling Rose in his arms). The door swung open and he stepped in. The room smelled like her perfume, a floral scent to which he could never pinpoint the flower. A clutter of clothes and artifacts they would collect on their adventures were strewn around the room. She had always kept it like this, untidy and disorganized. Despite the disarray, her bed was made. Her pink bed sheets were tucked neatly on the sides of the mattress and her pillows were arranged in a straight row against the headrest.

It must be the TARDIS' doing, he thought.

He lay her down on the bed and pulled the sheets over her.

"Doctor," Rose mumbled as she turned her head while she slept.

"Shhh…it's alright, I'm here." The Doctor stroked her hair. He crouched next to her at the side of her bed. "You're going to have your own adventures now, Rose. A life where I'll still be there with you. In that other universe you two could be fighting ruthless aliens, running from trouble, travelling to a different planet, and falling even more in love. 'Cause that's what you two do, the stuff of legends." He took her hand and held it. Even though her hand did not fit as well as it had before, it still felt nice to have her fingers interlaced with his. "Let me tell you a secret…I'm going to die soon. It's on planet called Trenzalore. Don't really know the details, but I know there will be a battle – a battle I'll lose." He sucked in a breath before he continued. "Yet, it gives me great pleasure to know that you'll be alright. You'll be happy and you know that's all I ever wanted for you."

"Are you ready?" The Moment stood beside him, her hazel eyes stared at him expectantly.

He nodded and let go of Rose's hand. He stood up and bent down to kiss her forehead. The Moment placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Do you think they'll be alright in the end?" She asked him, though already knowing the answer herself.

"Those two?" He chuckled. "I think they'll be more than alright. Sure there'll be danger, some madness, and challenges that they will face, but I know it'll be something they will both get through. They always find a way back to each other. I don't think there's anything in the entire universe that would keep apart their forever."

The Moment's eyes glowed as she began to dematerialize, her hand gripped the Doctor's shoulder and he began to fade along with her.

The Doctor let out a sigh and smiled. The curve of his lips, as well as the rest of his body were becoming transparent. "And at the end of the day, it is going to be…fantastic."

A flash of light ignited and a crackle of energy fizzled in the air. When it was gone, there was no evidence of the two visitors who had entered the ship.

Although this Doctor, the goofy bowtie-wearing man, would never get his ending with Rose, his other self, the one that was born out of love for her, would. And that was okay. He had his own adventures now, a different story from the Tenth. And on some days, happy endings do exist, and this was theirs.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some of you wanted Matt Smith to join them? Well how about Matt Smith is the Eleventh Doctor (like the Moment and the Doctor - this was all planned from the beginning) ;) I thought of him as a sort of guardian - someone who was watching over Rose and the Tenth Doctor when they were in the other universe. Hope you all enjoyed this chapter. Now onto the epilogue!


	17. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you all so much for supporting this story and giving plenty of kind reviews. Each one made me smile :)
> 
> Thank you ShadowLink5 and ElvishPenguin12 for beta reading this story.
> 
> Chapter beta read by ElvishPenguin12. All other mistakes are mine.

Epilogue

_November 23, 2013_

Outside of London, there was a house at the end of the suburban neighborhood. It was simple in design – a white, cottage-style home with a bright blue door at the front. A modest amount of land encircled it, with trees bordering the backyard as if concealing whatever secrets were held within the household. A rose bush was placed on both sides at the front of the house as a joke from the mischievous husband that lived inside.

Although a bit odd, neighbors thought they were normal enough. The Smith family, that is.

Everyone knew the wife was the mysterious heiress of the Vitex Company and daughter to Pete Tyler, the wealthiest man in all of Europe. When it was rumored she was moving in, neighbors expected a spoiled aristocrat that would look down on the simple neighborhood. However, she had a pleasant appearance and and smiled and greeted them with every encounter.

Their little girl attracted an adoring audience amongst the neighbors. Apart from being very intelligent for her age, her large hazel eyes and flame-red hair was enough to make the elderly neighbors desire a pinch on those rosy pink cheeks. Complemented with her newborn brother, who was just as adorable, they could win people over by only a smile or a coo.

Now the husband was a completely different classification. Always rushing about with his wife, always something to do...and not one person knew his real name. It was rumored to be John, yet everyone called him the Doctor, just the Doctor. He was friendly and charming, but there was something about him that was…off. No one could place their finger on it. He was just different.

There were times where one would hear a strange noise emitting from that house. It would draw the heads of passersby – joggers, kids playing on the street, postmen, anyone who had ears, really. It was like a wheezing machine, a sound that drew out for more than a minute, and then would silence. Like a chair grinding back and forth on a wooden floor. If they asked the couple, the two would only smirk and say it was merely the telly turned up too loud.

Yes, they were a little odd. But with a shrug, neighbors reasoned…wasn't everyone?

* * *

"Can we take a twip on the TARDIS?" Sarah whined as her small mouth opened to let out a gaping yawn.

"No Sarah," her mother firmly said. She held her three-year-old's hand and guided her into their room.

"I sweep in my woom in the TARDIS?" The toddler suggested.

"Goodness, you're as stubborn as your dad." Rose smiled while lifting the covers of the bed and tucking her daughter in. "We're not going in the TARDIS tonight. We're sleeping in our house and that's final."

"Awww." Sarah pouted, slumping her head against her pillow. Her bright red hair smattered the white sheets. "But I sweep good in the ship, she hums me to sleep."

"Is that so?" Rose raised her eyebrows at her. She climbed into the small bed with her and Sarah snuggled up against her. "Well, I'll just hum you to sleep myself then."

The little girl squealed in delight. Although her mother was not a time ship sentient, she had a lovely voice. It was one she enjoyed listening to when she got the chance.

Just as Rose started humming "Brahm's Lullaby," another whiny voice echoed down the hall. However, this one was more mature, more masculine than the child next to her.

"Rooooose!" The Doctor bounded in the room holding their ten-month-old in his arms. The infant's bare bottom was flashed before them and an unused diaper was dangling from the Doctor's hand. "This diaper has developed a fault."

"You know, you would think you'd be able to handle diapers since this is your _second_ kid." Rose pursed her lips as she tried not to giggle.

"I can never wrap around the sticky parts right." He used his left hand to brush his hair back. "He always squirms, too!"

"You would expect that from a baby," she teased, reaching out her arms for the child. "C'm here David."

She didn't know why she chose that name for him. It did not belong to any of her family members, her friends, or hold any significance to her. It was a plain, ordinary combination of five letters. Yet, she couldn't help but feel attached to it or that it fit perfectly. The Doctor agreed as well, it was a brilliant name. Although he had wanted the name Alonso at one point, the look Rose gave him persuaded him to forget that idea.

The infant cooed as his mother's arms wrapped around him. The Doctor handed her the diaper and, with expert hands, she wrapped it snugly around her child.

They both seemed to inherit their father's hair. David's was an exact match to the Doctor's, he didn't even need hair product to have his mousy brown hair stand up in the front. He had the Doctor's eyes too – large, chocolate-brown pools that brightened with curiosity. He gave Rose a toothless smile as she bent down to kiss the tip of his button nose.

"Mummy, I thought you were going to hum for me?" Sarah said.

"What's this now?" The Doctor lied back on the headboard of Sarah's bed and placing his long arm around her small shoulders.

"Sarah misses the TARDIS," Rose gave him a knowing look. "She wants me to hum to her like the ship does."

"Oh does she? How about…" he tapped his chin as he pretended to think, "we tell you a bedtime story instead, eh?"

Sarah's hazel eyes widened and her mouth stretched into a wide grin. "Yes! Yes! Pwees Mummy? Pwees?"

"Alright then," Rose smiled. While cradling David in her arms she sat back at the other side of Sarah. Surprisingly, the whole family was able to fit in the small bed. Except, of course, the Doctor, who had to dangle his legs at the end of the bed. "What story do you want us to read?"

"I like the one with the soldier who meets the peasant girl," Sarah said.

Rose frowned. "Which one is that?"

"Oh," the Doctor scratched the back of his neck, "that would be mine. I told Sarah that story a few weeks ago when she was coming down from a sugar rush."

"The one that happened after you made her a double fudge banana sundae? When I specifically told you not to?" Rose raised her eyebrow.

"Was it then?" The Doctor avoided her pointed look and raised his eyes to examine the celling. "Y'know, I'm not sure."

"Can you tell me it, Mummy?" Sarah tugged on Rose's sleeves, her eyes pleaded with her.

"Um, can you tell me what it's about?"

"It's about a soldier who comes home fwom the war and meets a peasant girl who saved his life. He's sad befow he meets her. Then he becomes happier because she's there. They fall in love. In the end…in the end…" Sarah scrunched her eyebrows as she thought.

"In the end, he was a turned out to be a prince and took her to his kingdom." The Doctor continued. "There, he showed her his world. She became his princess because that's how he always saw her – not a peasant, but a princess."

"Huh," Rose smiled, a slight blush formed on her cheeks. "Sounds very familiar. I think-I think I can tell it."

Sarah squealed, but was soon hushed by Rose. David was already nodding off in her arms.

"So, let's see," Rose shifted on the bed, trying to make herself comfortable. "Let's make this from the princess' perspective, yeah? Once upon a time, there was a peasant girl who lived in the…village of Powell. For the first nineteen years of her life, nothing happened. Nothing at all. Not ever. And then she met the soldier."

* * *

The Doctor and Rose lay back on their couch, flipping through the channels on their telly. They had the volume lowered so David and Sarah wouldn't wake, although their rooms were upstairs and they were watching downstairs, in the living room. The Doctor had his arm wrapped around Rose as they both snuggling under a warm blanket. It was Rose's turn to pick what they should watch tonight and she was in the mood for some mystery.

The couple had found themselves in an argument halfway through the show Rose had chosen.

The Doctor rolled his eyes at his wife. "Rose, you're being completely absurd."

Rose couldn't help but laugh at his seriousness. "I'm not! He looks like you!"

"How?!" He gestured to the screen. "He looks _nothing_ like me. The man looks like he wrapped a-a groundhog around his chin and calls it a beard! And _look_ at his hair." He cringed. "It's hideously flat. Nothing like my," he flounced his hair with his fingers, "brilliant hairdo."

"Are you not admitting it because it's hurting your ego?" Rose smirked.

"Phff, right, that's the reason." He shook his head. "He's constantly brooding too!"

"And that's why I said he looks like you."

"I don't brood! I-I think…reflectively, totally different from brooding."

"I swear, Doctor, if Sharlto Copley didn't play Alec Hardy, you could have gotten the role in another universe."

The Doctor crossed his arms and looked away from Rose, his eyes focused on the floor. He sat there silently as Rose bit back another giggle.

"You're brooding right now, you know that right?" She tried to make him look at her by slowly moving closer to him, her nose bumping his cheek. "Doctorrr."

When he wouldn't budge, she poked him in the rib. That had gotten a jerk from him. She grinned her tongue-touched smile. "Doctorrrr."

This time she dug her fingers into his rib which emitted a jerk and a laugh.

"Ticklish, are we?"

"You should know." The Doctor's eyes rose to meet hers and a devilish smirk etched itself on her lips.

In a blurred moment, the Doctor and Rose found themselves in a brutal tickle war – fighting to the death. They were squealing and laughing, gasping for breath. Although Rose was the one to initiate the ruthless battle, she soon found the Doctor on top of her, his hands digging into her sides. Her face flushed red from laughing too hard.

"Stop," Rose gasped, "time-out!"

"Oh, Rose Tyler, didn't anyone ever tell you? There are no time-outs in a tickle war." His long fingers found themselves crawling on her sides again and she let out a loud squeal.

"Stop!" She laughed. "Stop I-"

The clock had reached 7:30. They both gasped in that same moment.

A whirlwind of memories broke through the hidden barrier, flooding their minds with lost, forgotten days.

_We're in a universe where our life is a show on the telly._

_I am an actor who plays the Doctor and you are an actress who plays Rose Tyler._

_It's utterly a part of our timeline. This show is our past, present, and future._

_You're married._

_Rose Tyler, I love you._

_No, it can't be. It's a fixed point, isn't it? Doomsday is a fixed point._

_That means...you'll be able to spend the rest of your life with me._

The Doctor and Rose blinked as the succession of memories ended and left them staring, shocked, at each other's faces. The Doctor was the first to react, his mouth twitched as a smile began to emerge from his lips. Then, he emitted a low, soft chuckle which grew to loud, boisterous laughter. Rose beamed at him, she laughed along with him. Their arms wrapped around each other in a celebratory embrace.

"They're alive!" The Doctor exclaimed, his chin resting on Rose's shoulder. "The Time Lords are alive!"

He pulled back from the embrace only to look into Rose's eyes, those hazel irises that always drew him near. "I can't believe it. I didn't kill them, Rose. I didn't!"

"Blimey, and weren't we so stupid a few years ago." Rose said. "Fighting off our feelings like two loons."

"Our lives on television in another universe," the Doctor added. "Imagine that."

"And we're actors!" Rose burst out in another fit of giggles.

"Happy Fiftieth, Billie Piper." He winked.

"Happy Anniversary, David Tennant." Rose smiled, playing along.

They laughed again, and Rose could have sworn she saw a bit of dampness near the Doctor's eyes. She realized how happy the Doctor truly was. He had discovered he _wasn't_ the last of his kind, they uncovered memories of them finally confessing their feelings for each other, and, now, nothing could further dampen the Doctor's mood for, what may seem like, the rest of his life. He was content. No longer was he lonely – he had a family. No longer would he be haunted for committing genocide on his own people – he was finally free.

"Well, there's one important mistake those directors and screenplay writers didn't film." Rose looked at him questioningly. "I love you," The Doctor said, his expression was sincere and undoubtedly heartfelt.

He arched his head down to kiss her. Their lips were already familiar with one another and slipped into the comfortable routine. The Doctor changed the angle and deepened the kiss. He only stopped when he felt Rose nip his bottom lip teasingly.

"So…about you not looking anything like Alec Hardy…" Rose poked her tongue out of her teeth again as she smiled. She recalled the picture she had seen with his scruff and flat hair. "Told you in some universe you could have played him."

* * *

_In the Alternate Universe_

"You aren't real!" His pupils moved back and forth underneath his closed eyelids. Beads of sweat perspired above his brow. "That can't be. No. No. Noooo!" A knock on the door startled the slumbering man. His dark curls bobbed up with his head. "Who is it?" He answered, rubbing away the grogginess from his eyes.

"Steven, it's Matt. Can I come in?" A voice responded from the door.

The man sat up and straightened himself out. Papers with scribbles stuck to his arms while one was peeling off his forehead. He must have fallen asleep when he was planning for the new special, he thought to himself. He took one off his elbow. It read: _50_ _th_ _Anniversary Ideas_. Names were listed under the heading. _The Moment of the Doctor, Hope of the Doctor, The Other Doctor_ , and, hell, even _The Doctor_ were names listed, but had been crossed out. Once he had made himself presentable, he answered back.

"Yeah, sure, Matt. Come in."

Matt Smith, who had shaved his hair off a few weeks ago, came in wearing a full head of hair. His brown, floppy bangs were back in place instead of the crew-cut he had been sporting for his new film. It wasn't just his hair; something else was different about him. It was something in his eyes or the slight change of his posture that was throwing Steven off. Was it the way he walked? Maybe it's just his hair? It was almost as if he was…He shook away recollections of his dream. Nonsense. _You've been writing sci-fi so long, you think you're living in it,_ he thought.

"Hey, Steven. I wanted to talk to you about the 50th. I wasn't sure what the plans were going to be for scheduling. I would have asked my manager, but I wanted to know directly if you're planning to make the locations abroad. Is the cast already selected too? I know John is going to be in it, but I have been hearing rumors of other people joining." He let out a nervous chuckle. "Sorry, I just rambled a bit. I guess it's because I'm excited about this episode."

Steven smiled and gestured to the seat across his desk for Matt to sit down. He took the seat while Steven stacked the papers in order. "Sorry, Matt. We're not sure about anything yet. We're still on stage one of the whole production and we haven't come up with a script yet. We only have the main plotline."

"What about the casting?" Matt asked, sitting back on his chair.

Steven reclined in his chair too and his eyes focused in the distance as he contemplated it. Remnants of his dream seeped through his thoughts. Rose Tyler – the Whovian audience had not seen that face for a very long time; three seasons in fact. She was the beloved companion in the beginning of the reboot. Could he-? No, Russell had finished her story with a perfect finality. He shouldn't be the one to spoil it by his own selfish reasons for bringing her back.

An idea hit him square between the eyes.

"Maybe Billie can come back…" He said in a reflective tone, mostly to himself than to Matt.

"Billie?" Matt blinked in surprise. "Billie Piper? How? I thought you said her story was done."

"Yeah, _Rose Tyler's_ story, but what if she came back as another character." Of course! He could do that. It's brilliant!

"Another charac-?"

"Sorry, Matt." Steven stood up and walked over to the actor. "I was just inspired by an amazing idea." He walked Matt over to the door. "I'll talk to you later, okay?"

Matt looked at him with raised eyebrows. "Y-yeah. Yeah, sure." He shut the door behind him.

Steven grinned – he knew what to do. He would bring Billie Piper back as the Moment, hence showing the importance of Rose Tyler's character as well as sort of bringing back the adored companion.

If only Chris wanted to be a part of the production. Everyone already knew there was a slim chance to none that he would even bother to come to a meeting. They couldn't bring Chris in, the first Doctor of the reboot…but…but they could bring the _second_ Doctor of the reboot. David Tennant. Yes! That could work. Billie Piper and David Tennant back on screens in _Doctor Who._ It would make the show historically significant _and_ please the Davies's Era fans.

So, it was settled – for him at least. He took a paper from his desk, grabbed a pen, and jotted the idea down. _David Tennant and Billie Piper returning to Doctor Who_. He was so proud of the idea that he traced a circle around it, smiling at the words as if he, himself, had painted the Mona Lisa and was beholding its artistry.

David Tennant and Billie Piper return.

* * *

The man leaned the back of his head against the door of Steven Moffat's office; a smile tugged against his lips. He ran his fingers through his dark brown hair and gave it a small tug as if to reassure himself the strands were still there. His doppleganger in this universe had shaved it before he had arrived, he was grateful that the universe allowed him to keep his bangs. That hairdo belonged to the celebrity actor Matt Smith; however, it did not do justice for _the Doctor._

A flash of light blinded his vision for a second, and as it dimmed he found himself facing the figure of a woman. Her hair was in a tangle of blonde curls and her clothes were ripped and torn. The Moment stood before him, her arms crossed in front of her. "Have you done it?" She asked, her eyes taunted him with the familiar hazel hue.

"Ah, yes." He clasped his hands together. "David Tennant and Billie Piper will come back on the 50th anniversary episode. He remembers everything that happened, but I made him believe it was all a dream. Simple, really. Just a telepathic mind trick, learned it when I was a child in the Academy."

She nodded, ignoring his bragging tone. "Good. Those actors needed to come in order for everything to take place. It might have become paradoxical misfortune to this universe and ours if they hadn't – you know, with this universe being interwoven with ours and all."

"Hold on." He frowned. "You told me it would only ruin our plans not entire universes!"

"I didn't say only, I said it would ruin our plans. I didn't reveal the rest because I thought it would place more pressure on you. There was plenty at stake."

He rolled his eyes. "Alright, fine, fine. Let's not stay here any longer than we need to. I really don't fancy wearing this t-shirt." He picked at the collar, holding the fabric between two fingers. "I much prefer my bowties and oxford shirts, thank you very much."

She shook her head and smirked while stepping towards him. "Tell me, Doctor. In every incarnation, are you always so fastidious?"

"Oi! I'll have you know-" He was not able to complete his sentence as the Moment had placed her hand on his arm and they both disappeared in a bolt of light. A slight breeze swept across the hall, lifting a few stray papers in the air.

The door to Steven Moffat's office opened and the man, himself, poked his head out. "Who's there? What was that noise?" Glancing from side-to-side he found he was alone. He shrugged.

"Must have been my imagination," he muttered to himself before shutting the door.

It was the most sensible thought he had in a long time.

La Fin

 


End file.
